


Insanity often comes in the form of children

by HappilyUnconventional34



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang @ Zuko: Let me love you, Aang is everyone's big brother, Gen, Gremlin Sokka and Feral Zuko take on the world, Jet is a fuck boi, Multiple well meaning kidnapping attempts, Oldest member of the gaang!Toph, Protective Azula (Avatar), RIp Katara's sanity, Sokka and Zuko refuse to stay out of danger, Zuko @ Aang:hisssssss, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, no beta we die like lu ten, older sibling Azula, older sibling katara
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:55:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26206780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappilyUnconventional34/pseuds/HappilyUnconventional34
Summary: AgeSwap AU.In which Zuko and Sokka are 12, Aang is 16 and Katara is 15.Featuring Gremlin! Sokka, Not a kid!Zuko, Very much a kid person!Aang, Suffering!Katara, Actually not that bad of a sister!Azula, and tired of all the kidnapping attempts!Iroh.
Relationships: Aang & Sokka (Avatar), Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), minor Aang/Katara - Relationship
Comments: 208
Kudos: 1233
Collections: A:tla





	1. Teenagers are Liars

**Author's Note:**

> Normally I see a lot of age swapped baby Zuko and I want to switch things up a bit. In this fic, Sokka and Zuko are 12, Aang and Azula are 16 and Katara is 15. Everyone else is the same age. ( I'm on the fence on whether I should age swap Toph. It all depends on which scenario is funnier)
> 
> Note: Don't expect a cohesive plot. This is pure indulgence.

**Sokka**

“Bison can’t fly.”

Weird bald guy’s face drops, and he looks at Sokka like he’s just kicked a Polarbeardog pup off a glacier.

“You don't believe he can fly?” There’s an underlying tint to his disappointment and Sokka doesn't like it!

“Nope.” Sokka's tone is final, unbending. For some strange reason, Bald Jerk looks like his entire worldview has been crushed. 

Sokka doesn't care to figure out why, because he’s cold and hungry and still smells like Bison snot and he just wants to go home and the stupid bald guy WHO WONT STOP STARING AT HIS SISTER is lying about Bison and their ability to fly instead of talking about how they can get home!

But Katara and Jerkface don't seem too keen on getting Sokka home and into a new parka. No ,they're too busy talking about magic water and magic air and things Sokka doesn't care about. 

What he does care about is how close Bald jerk is getting to his sister as they talk.

That’s a violation. 

Oong or Dung or whatever the heck he says his name is, is tall and broad shouldered, built of lean muscle on full display through very not-cold-weather-approved robes.

Sokka comes to about the bald jerk’s mid-chest, is approximately 40 pound soaking wet and has more luck hitting himself than anything else with his boomerang.

But this guy was bald and Sokka’s warrior’s wolf tail was becoming puffier every day.

Sokka could totally take him.

Sokka allows Magic Air jerk to give them a ride home because his stupid iceberg destroyed their ship. He also allows him to help his sister onto the bison _that-obviously-couldn’t-fly-not-that-Sokka -believed-him-because-he-wasnt-stupid!_

And then Bald Jerks hands linger a little bit too long on his sister’s.

Target locked on. Defensive actions activated.

Sokka _thinks_ he hears a crunch when he steps on Oong’s toes when it’s his turn to be helped up. He digs a heel in anyway, just to be safe

Jerkjumper winces but keeps his kind smile, helping Sokka onto the monster bison with extra gentle hands. He even adds in a friendly hair ruffle as Sokka settles himself next to his sister, and his sister's eyes do this really weird, really creepy sparkly thing.

Tch. Girls.

Well, the nice guy routine wouldn’t work on Sokka. Maybe if he was one of the naive babies that made up his super elite kill squad, he might have fallen for it. But no, he was made of stronger stuff and it was his duty as the oldest male in the village to protect his stupid sister from her stupid girly feelings.

Also Sokka was totally right. The Bison doesn’t fly, even after Baldbender makes a grand ceremony of telling them to hold on. The jerk’s smile is sheepish under the weight of Sokka’s glare.

Sokka leans back in the saddle,crosses his arms and ruthlessly stomps down on the bitter disappointment that bubbles in his gut.

Stupid lying bald sister-mooning jerk.

**Katara**

Katara barricades Sokka in their hut.

Sokka very much protested the idea. In fact, her arms still throb with the force in which he presented his grievances with her plan.

It had not been an easy win, but eventually Sokka had discovered that Katara’s knot tying skills were very advanced indeed and had worn himself out enough for Katara to pull her parka out of his teeth and beat a hasty retreat.

One might say that she needn’t take such drastic measures, but Katara remembers with perfect clarity her tiny nine year old brother attempting to stow away in their Dad’s ship.

If anything, her measures weren't drastic enough. But she hadn’t the time nor skill to erect a 7 foot wall of solid ice around their igloo like she wanted to, so the rope would have to do.

  
  


Everyone Is panicking as she herds them all into a tight cluster behind. Her flask is a block of ice at her side, heavy with the weight of responsibility as she was not only the eldest child of the chief but also the only waterbender. That made her the only one able to protect her village.

The ship looms closer, crushes past the flimsy ice barrier that was their village wall. Katara pushes herself forward, draws to full height, tries to look braver than she feels. 

The ship stops. The hatch lowers….

Katara blinks once, twice, thrice.

The image in front of her does not change. She desperately wants it to change. Why wont it change?

All thoughts of panic fade away and are immediately replaced with horrified disbelief. At the edges of her consciousness she thinks she hears a crack. It might be her heart.

The tiny soldier in their tiny armor, flanked by his not so tiny and much more threatening entourage stops directly in front of her. The tiny soldier is shorter than Sokka. They don't even reach her shoulders. On his face, exacerbated by his angry scowl is a large ugly scar.

Katara thinks she's going to cry.

“WHERE’S THE AVATAR!?” The tiny soldier shouted in a not so tiny voice. It’s an impressive set of lungs for someone whose voice obviously hasn't even cracked.

Apparently, the Fire Nation Army recruits actual children. To fight. In their war.

Katara feels her head goes hazy in the way that it does when she knows she is about to lose it. Someone obviously needed to impress upon the Fire Nation why it was a bad idea to recruit actual children. To fight. In their war.

Preferably with fists and sharpened pikes of ice instead of words.

Katara would happily volunteer to lodge a complaint.

But first, her rage needs to be taken out on a more immediate target. She looks over to where a gray haired, mutton chopped soldier watches the tiny soldier with a hawklike gaze. 

He looked like a good place to start.

However, before she can move towards the soldier and unleash the full might of her motherly rage upon his unsuspecting soul, a tiny blue blur zooms past her, knocking her off balance. Katara can only watch as Sokka, boomerang raised and face covered in a poor attempt at traditional Water Tribe warrior paint, tackles the tiny soldier into the ground.

“GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER!”

Ah, so that was what caused that crash she heard earlier.

Katara probably should have attempted to make that ice wall.

**Jee**

The tiny screaming savage does not know how to properly wield a boomerang.

He knows how to use his fists, he gets in a few well placed hits on their prince while he is still down dazed from the unexpected tackle and thus unable to defend himself against the furious assault. 

But he has no idea how to wield a boomerang which becomes apparent when the Prince recovers, because it’s impossible for him to stay still and quiet for too long, and begins to give as good as he gets.  
  
“GET OFF ME YOU SAVAGE!”

As the Prince begins to fight back in earnest, tiny flying fists morph into a repetitive assault in the form of a crude boomerang

“WHY! WON'T! YOU! DIE?” Each word is punctuated with a echoing clang. Jee can already feel a headache building and he’s not even the one being hit. 

.  
“STOP HITTING MY HELMET!”

“STOP NOT DYING!”

“THIS IS THE FINEST STEEL THE FIRE NATION HAS TO OFFER! YOUR STUPID BOOMERANG ISNT GONNA DO ANYTHING SO STOP!”

“MY BOOMERANG ISN'T STU-HEY! LET GO!”

And from there the _‘fight’_ dissolves into a literal game of tug of war between two tiny screaming children.

Jee looked over to the girl that bares a striking resemblance to the shrieking ball of scrappy murder. She looks conflicted, torn between.wanting to wilt away from embarrassment and scream into the void.

Jee knows the feeling quite well.

As Jee ponders how to aid in the ‘fight’ without coming off as a bully, a blur of yellow and orange lands between the squabbling - er- dueling children, effectively forcing them apart. 

It’s the Avatar. 

They’d actually found the freaking Avatar.

Jee watches the teen approach their Prince and wonders if a temporary leave due to insanity is covered under his health plan.

.

**Zuko**

“Hey! You’re just a teenager!” 

Zuko doesn't mean for his words to come out as a whine, truly he doesn't. But in the wake of such soul crushing disappointment could anyone really blame him?

All the books and scrolls he read about the Avatar painted him a mythical figure, bursting with arcane knowledge and limitless power. Zuko had expected to confront a sage like Avatar, with fire for eyes and a glorious beard that reached his feet and-and a cool staff.

Instead, in front him stood a stupid bald teenager who looked on the cusps of passing out.

It wasn’t fair!!

Zuko's been cheated. Bamboozled even! 

His glorious battle, the epic showdown with the living legend that he’d trained for 3 whole years for, ruined! Trampled! Crushed!

There was no glory in fighting a stupid teenager! Zuko had had **_that_ **particular fact practically stomped into his consciousness at a very young age.

Stupid Azula.

The Avatar, who has absolutely no right to be so scrawny and teenagery looks ready to cry, scream and possibly have a major heart attack( if the way he was clutching at his chest like uncle did sometimes was any indication).

“Well, you’re just a baby!”

So, the Avatar was not just a menace to the Fire Nation, a dirty coward, and a stupid boring teenager but he was rude as well! 

“I’m not a baby!” Zuko did NOT stomp his foot because only children stomped their feet and Zuko was **_NOT_ **a children! “I’m 12!”

Technically 11 and 3 quarters but 12 was a much more intimidating number.

The Avatar definitely looked like he was having a heart attack now.

“Dear Spirits, he’s 12.”

The Avatar looks even more distressed which is ridiculous. Because the Avatar has no reason to look so distressed. Because he wasn't the one whose dreams had been crushed.

“You will come with me Avatar, or I'll make you!” He doesn't even have the chance to shift into a fighting stance before the Avatar drops his stick and shifts into a submissive position.

“Of course. Whatever you want. No resistance here.” The Avatar even goes so far as to hold his hands out to be shackled.

Zuko blinks. Huh, that was easier than he’d thought it would be. 

Guess he could be pretty intimidating when he wanted to be.  


Take that Azula.

**Aang**

In retrospect, it is entirely too easy to escape.

Granted, it would have been just as easy to not be captured in the first place.

But….

“GET BACK HERE AVATAR AND FACE ME!”

Aang can't quite resist the wide grin that spreads across his face.He really wanted to get to know the little firecracker. What can he say? He was charmed. The kid was cute in the way that a scorpioncat was cute. Absolutely adorable to look at, but hazardous if you got too close.Which is why while he makes sure that he remains well within the prince's sight during his epic escape he still keeps a safe distance. 

You could encourage a young boy's dream without taking a fireball to the face, after all.

Their game of tag is cut short when a wave of soldiers stomp onto the deck and Aang realizes it’s about time for him to actually fight in earnest if he wants to escape. And just when he and his little Flameo were having so much fun.

Except he doesn't get the chance. 

Because Appa’s here.

And he’s flying.

Aang barely resists the urge to squeak in glee as he makes out Sokka’s tiny form on Appa’s back. Oh, what he would have given to see the kid’s reaction to Appa flying. He’d have to have Katara explain it to him in extensive detail.

As much as he'd like to spend time with his new angry friend, it really was time for him to go. The village apparently was safe and his ride was here.

He turns to wish the boy goodbye, but his words die on his tongue as he gets a good look at the kids face. He’s not looking at him at all, instead he’s looking at Appa. Aang sees the wonder in his eyes, sees the way his little face lights up in pure childlike awe. 

“Wow.” The Prince’s whisper is full of giddy amazement.

Aang immediately stops.

Changes courses.

Makes a beeline to the Prince.

It’s not really _kidnapping_ if you're giving them a better home, right?

**Iroh**

Iroh pieces together the Avatar’s intention before he even begins to reach towards his nephew. 

The wall of fire that spouts between Zuko and his would-be kidnapper is enough of a deterrent as it would seem. The Avatar immediately veers to the left, the edges of his cape just the slightest bit charred. Iroh will admit that he may have put a bit too much fire behind the flames, but a message needed to be sent.

He tosses a fireball at the retreating figure and follows up with another wall of fire for good measure. 

Okay, so maybe he’s a bit miffed. What of it?

The Avatar, seeing imminent demise per very miffed uncle, beats a hasty retreat to his flying Bison. Iroh steps forward, drapes his arms over his nephew's shoulders and pulls him to his chest, effectively stopping him from throwing himself after the Avatar.

“You’re at your limit.” is his serene answer to the ensuring glare.

Tense shoulders immediately slump. Iroh pretends not to notice the way tiny arms tremble. They both watch as the Bison gains sped.

“He’s getting away.” The forlorn tone has Iroh pulling his nephew even closer to him.

_‘Yes and thankfully without you.’_

“We’ll find them.”

And hopefully Iroh could impress upon the Avatar why one should never poke a sleeping dragon.

To think the Avatar would be so brazen as to dare to attempt to abduct his nephew and right in front of his face no less! Iroh was an agreeable man, as long as it didn't Involve his nephew being in danger or in this case forcibly abducted. To think he’d actually thought the young monk was an amicable lad and had thus let his guard down.

He would not make the same mistake twice.

  
  


**Azula**

Azula burns her brother's letter to her and her father, crushes the ashes beneath her heel, and sets the black smudge on fire once more, just to be completely thorough.

Of course when she has Zuko tucked safely away and out of their father's grasp, he would go and sabotage all her efforts by actually achieving the unachievable task he’d been given.

The little idiot was annoying like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And before you ask. Yes, Ozai DID indeed burn 9 year old baby Zuko. What an asshole.


	2. Threats dont have to be given in person

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azula sends letters. People are threatened. Sokka warms up to Aang .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interesting note: Being burned, especially extensively burned, at a young age can weaken your body’s immune system especially if infection is involved.And as someone with a chronic condition herself , I will never miss an opportunity to give my favorite characters a chronic condition. Sorry Zuko.

Azula anticipates Zhao’s letter to her father. 

It's easy enough to intercept.

This letter is not burned.

The messenger hawk that delivered it can not say the same.

Kaaru. That’s what Zhao had named the Hawk. A truly majestic specimen of her breed. Beautiful. Loyal. Intelligent. Zhao had had the hawk for quite some time and was very fond of it.

Azula makes sure to include it’s name tag and a few of its charred feathers in the letter she sends back.

Zhao does not write her father anymore.

000000

Sokka digs his finger into the soft material of Katara’s parka. Buries his face into her stomach. Doesn’t move.

There are hands on him. One settled on his back , the other in his hair. Gentle fingers work to ease the tight knot in his stomach.

He doesn't pull his face away even when Aang's frantic sputters trail off into a string of whispered apologies.

“I’m so, _so_ sorry Sokka.”

“Aang was just overwhelmed and upset , Sokka.” Katara's voice matches the gentle movements of her fingers in his hair. “ He didn't mean to scare you.”  
  
“Wasn’t scared.” 

And he wasn’t really. Who in their right mind would be scared of a bald scrawny teenager. Even if that teenager could sometimes turn into a scary glowly ball of ancient-spirit fuelled rage that nearly blew him off a really high mountain? 

Not Sokka, that’s for sure. It’s not like he was a baby or anything. He could handle a bit of ancient-spirity rage. Big whoop.No problem.

What he couldn’t handle was how _angry_ Aang had been, how that goofy smile he’d grown used to in their short time together was nowhere to be seen, replaced instead by and blank scowl that spoke of rage and hurt and pain and a lot of other things Sokka couldn’t really understand. 

All he knew was that he didn't like it and he didn't want it to happen again.  
  


Aang’s a little ways away from him, on bended knee when Sokka finally turns to look at him. He looks anxious, almost scared, like he was waiting on Sokka for….something. Be it condemnation or acceptance, Sokka can't be sure.

But Aang is looking more and more like a kicked walrusotter pup by the minute and honestly it’s kind of impossible to be scared of someone who can make their eyes go that big.

“It’s okay.”And Aang perks, sunny smile back in place. “Just make sure the next time you go all glowy we're not on such a high mountain.”  
  


“Will do kiddo!” He gives Sokka’s hair a fond ruffle, laughing when his hands are immediately batted away. 

0000000

Azula’s return letter arrives at Dawn.

It’s addressed to Iroh.

That in itself is none too surprising. It’s a system he and Azula have long since worked out.

Since Zuko technically can not receive nor send casual correspondence back and forth between the Fire Nation , per the rules of his banishment, Iroh made sure to mark letters from the Prince to his sister with his name and Azula likewise addressed letters for Zuko to him.

However, as Iroh breaks the seal and starts reading, he immediately discovers that this particular letter is exclusively for his eyes only.

“Is that from Azula?” Zuko practically manifested at his elbow, literally vibrating with excitement, “What did she say?! Did she get my letter? Did Father? What did **_he_ **say?”

Iroh carefully folds the very long, very detailed, very **_expletive filled_ **letter from his niece documenting all his failures as both a guardian and a human being and turns towards his nephew with a sunny smile.

“Your sister says hi, Prince Zuko.”

And then he promptly burns the letter, for there are words within it that such young eyes should never see.

“Wha-Uncle! I didn't get to-”

“Come, Prince Zuko.” Iroh said promptly, bushing the ashes off his hands with a flourish. “It’s time for your medicine.”

Letter burning indignation promptly forgotten, Zuko’s face immediately sours, as it often did when the prospect of all things medicine was brought up.

“I don't need my medicine,Uncle! I feel fine!” The flush beginning to rise on his cheeks said otherwise.

“Nonsense.“ All subsequent protests are hand waved as Iroh herds his protesting nephew to his quarters. “You very well can't track the Avatar if you're bedridden and this Artic air has not been kind to your delicate disposition.”  
  


“I’M NOT DELICATE!”

“Of course you aren't, nephew.”

The medicine is a strong brew, good for strengthening the body and fortifying the immune system.

It also makes a very convenient knockout agen -er- promotes a healthy sleeping schedule. Iroh goes through painstakingly extra lengths to ensure the supply is always double stocked.

Iroh makes sure his nephew is fully down, tenderly tucks him in with a kiss to his brow and returns to his quarters.

He had a niece to respond to and a plan to create.

000000

Sokka had once told his Dad that he wanted an older brother. 

His Dad gently explained to him that it didn’t work that way, that if he got a brother it would be a _younger_ brother. Sokka, being an agreeable sort, had graciously amended his demand, and asked instead for a little brother, because a little brother was better than no brother. And a brother was better than a sister, especially one as overbearing as Katara.

(He’d unfortunately said that part out loud. Katara had **not** been pleased.)

His Dad had actually looked like he was considering Sokka’s request. 

And then he looked at his Mom.

Who looked back at his Dad, and did the thing where she talked without actually talking.

Sokka didn't get a brother.

(He DID get a whole day's worth of silent treatment from Katara, because **_Girls._ **)

Then the Fire Nation attacks and Sokka can't worry about not having a brother when he doesn’t even have a Mom.

And then Dad leaves and Gran Gran and Katara are all he has left and all thoughts of a brother fade away because he doesnt need anyone because Katara **_is_ ** everyone.

But now Sokka has an airbender who’s older. And a boy.

According to Sokka’s calculations that makes him eligible for the role of older brother.

Aang’s goofy and sensitive and a vegetarian and weirdly obsessed with Sokka’s opinions of things like Bison who actually fly and what shape clouds are (Uh, Cloud shaped, **duh**.). 

Not what Sokka was expecting when he pictured having a big brother because big brothers were supposed to be cool. And like meat.

But Aang’s also friendly and funny and nice and has just enough muscle on his arms that if Sokka closes his eyes when he's subjected to yet another random hug, he can almost imagine it’s his Dad hugging him and it makes him feel _safe-_

If they could work on the meat thing, Sokka might consider allowing Aang to be his big brother. 

But only through adoption. Not marriage.


	3. Suki didnt ask for a fanclub

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zhao contemplates. Jee and Azula reminisce. Suki gets a fan( a human one)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It should be noted that while Sokka thinks girls are icky and too girly he was raised by Katara and she makes sure he drinks his respect women juice.
> 
> Plus He has a thing for girls who can kick his ass.

The Young Prince first arrived aboard the Wani by stretcher.

Jee had been fresh out of active duty, pulled from his battalion due to unsavory accusations from higher ups,placed among a ragtag crew of outcasts, and told he was to help their prince chase after a centuries old legend.

He had not been pleased.

When he learns that the Prince was banished, a bit of his anger cooled. How could you focus on being angry when you were too busy being confused. Jee didn't make it a habit of keeping up with the Royal Family, too busy fighting their war, but if he remembered correctly he was sure the Young Prince was 9. 

What on _Earth_ could a nine year old have done to be banished?

Confusion quickly turned to horror when the paltry procession arrived and the ship's healers rushed to help unload the Prince.

The boy may as well have been a corpse for how white and still he was, the only spot of color on his body the bright red flush across his cheeks. Or at least one of his cheeks. Jee can not see the other one. It’s covered by a large bandage soaked in blood. 

General Iroh stays glued to his side, a silent figure of immeasurable fury. He does so much as acknowledge Jee’s hasty salute as they hurry by with Prince Zuko. Jee follows them to the Prince’s Quarters but has the door shut in his face.  
  
They set sail to no fanfare.

No one had come to see the Young Prince off. 

Not even the Princess. 

Despite the general secrecy surrounding the details of Prince Zuko’s banishment, everyone knew that he’d received a grievous injury. That meant the child hadn’t even gotten any time to heal from that injury before he was shipped out to sea. Depraved of his home, his title, his honor.

That is when Jee concluded that it didn't matter what the Prince did to be banished. He had not deserved it.

No child deserved any of what his Prince suffered,

As Jee thought back to the shaking, feverish, child he made a vow, a vow that as long as Jee breathed no one would ever hurt his Prince again. No one.

Unfortunately, it seemed the Prince made his own vow unbeknownst to Jee, which was to ensure that he personally made Jee’s vow as hard as humanly possible to uphold. 

Jee finds this out extremely quickly, no less than a week and a half into their journey in fact, when he and the General had to physically restrain the fever ravaged 9 year old from taking a boat to nearby Island all because of a tip he somehow heard.

It was the start of a beautiful relationship.

Prince Zuko was not an easy charge to look after.

Turns out when you severely injure a child and send him away from all he's ever known, with his only hope of returning home being a Spirit tale, that child develops crippling self worth issues and loses all sense of self preservation.

If you did not keep an eye on him, Prince Zuko would absolutely find a way to endanger his own life. 

Jee should know. His hair had not been gray when they first set sail.

So it is with absolutely no guilt whatsoever that he ushers Prince Zuko back into his quarters for his afternoon rest. (Not nap. You **_NEVER_ **refer to it as a nap)

“Sir , the General's orders were quite clear-”

“Uncle is not the Captain of this ship! I AM! And I order you to move!”

“Sir, you’re tired (and cranky) and a young man needs his rest. Kyoshi Island will still be there tomorrow.”

“BUT THE AVATAR MIGHT NOT! AND I NEED TO -n-need, to- to -'' Jee immediately moves to pat Prince Zuko’s back as he breaks off into a fit of hacking coughs. Not for the first time, Jee thanks the Spirits that they are out of the Arctic. 

Arctic air and stubborn Princes did a good match make.

The slight fit ends, leaving Prince Zuko a little off balance and thus unable to immediately resume his shouting. Jee takes the opportunity to gently scoop the boy into his arms and quickly deposit him into bed. He’s back at the door before the Prince knows what’s going on.

“Have a nice rest sir. I’ll send Jin down with your tea later.” He closes the door just before the fireball can hit him in the face.

\----------

Zhao imagines a world where he gets to fulfill his every desire.

In that world, he finishes what their honorable Fire Lord started, gets to see the light drain out of golden eyes, gets to feel fragile bones break under the force of his hand around a slender neck.

But Zhao does not live in a different world. He lives in a world where such actions would result in a far more gruesome fate than what befell his precious Kaaru. 

After all, the letter he’d received from the Princess had been quite clear.

_“You act when I say act. You move when I say move. So much as breathe in my brother’s direction wrong and your existence is forfeit. Do not disappoint me and you will have your glory. I’ll be in touch.”_

“I’ll be in touch.” 

Heh, how quaint. Zhao appreciates the Princess’s subtlety, despite the underlying condescension. Such a sneaky way to let him know he was being watched. It’s an uncommon show of kindness from his dear Princess. Lets him know he’s more useful to her alive than dead.  
  


Zhao does not know which of his men is the Princess’s informant. It could be one man, it could be all of them. He won't waste time trying to find out. A small part of him, the part that doesn’t want to drown every soldier under his command in fire, understands. Zhao does not have any illusions of his influence vs the Princess’s. It’s the safest bet,after all. He’d probably do the same.

It’s with the Princess’s words in his mind that he commands his men to sail in the opposite direction of Kyoshi Island, ignores the Avatar’s Bison flying brazenly in the air.

As he watches the Avatar fade further out of his sight, the force with which he grips Kaaru’s scorched nametag leaves a cut on his palm.

\---------

The little water tribe boy with the fluffy hair steps into Suki’s dojo, head high, boomerang raised, and promptly challenges her to a duel. 

He barely came up to her mid stomach and looked like a small wave of her fan could knock him over.

Suki kinda admired his gall.

Still, she’s a warrior and no one gets special treatment.

The kid is on the ground in three seconds flat. The dazed look in his pretty blue eyes speak of an unknown and imminent danger that leaves a pit in Suki’s stomach.

“Wooooow.” His voice has a dreamy edge to it. Suki hopes she didn't hit him too hard. Suki is formidable but she doesn't have much practice against waterbenders, and she would prefer not to call down the wrath of little waterspout’s older sister. 

But rising fears of Brain damage and epic duels are put to rest when the kid jumps up, his eyes practically sparkling.

“Let's do that again.”

_What?_

“ _What_?”

“This time you won't take me down as quickly!”

She doesn't get to formulate a response cause he’s charging her again.

He’s right. She doesn't take him down as quickly, mainly because she’s so shocked.

What was this kid?

About five takedowns later, the kid springs back up once more and Suki seriously thinks she is about to lose due to sheer exhaustion. Did this kid stay down?

However, instead of attacking he skips over to stand before her, literally bouncing on the heels of his feet.

“I want to be a Kyoshi warrior too! Please teach me your ways, dangerous woman!”

Suki doesn't even get a chance to deny him.

The little warrior quickly becomes a little shadow, a little shadow that trails after her and demands she teach him her super elite warrior secrets. 

Not even the dress and the makeup that comes with those ‘super elite warrior secrets’ is enough to chase him off.

The other Kyoshi warriors giggle at her plight, their amused eyes darting between her and the waterspout that Suki feels,for the foreseeable future, is a permanent attachment to her side. 

\------

“Awwwwwwwww. Look Katara.” Aang cooes, hand to cheek as Suki passes by, a bouncy Sokka in tow, “Sokka has his first crush. That’s so adorable!”

Katara watches as Sokka trails after Suki like a sealotter puppy, his eyes shining with a very familiar, very scary look.

“Yeah. Adorable.”

Suddenly, reuniting with her father ranks a little higher on Katara’s to-do list.

Because there’s a **_talk_ **coming that she absolutely refuses to have any part of.

\--------

Zuko’s first word had been Azula’s name.

Apparently that was a big deal, if Mother’s delighted gasp and tearful smile had been any indication.

Azula does catch the slightest bit of disappointment mixed with the elation. Mother had so been hoping Zuko’s first word would be ‘Mama’.

(Azula’s first word had been ‘idiot’, said to her nursemaid who had promptly quit the following day.

“I refuse to be insulted by a 5 month old” Had been the entirety of the nursemaid's resignation letter.)

Azula doesn’t see the big deal in first words. The stupid baby hadn’t even said her name right. 

He’d called her ‘Lala’ of all things. But apparently babies got participation awards just for existing and Mother dotes on the drooly nuisance for the rest of the day. 

Well, Azula would not allow such disrespect to stand. Lala was not the right pronunciation and she refused to be referred to as such.

Out of sight of her overly emotional mother, Azula endlessly drilled Zuko on the finer aspects of pronunciation.

“IT’S NOT LALA, YOU IDIOT! MY NAME IS AZULA! A-ZU-LA!”

“LA-LA-LA!”

None of the lessons stuck. 

Lala becomes her official moniker.

Her brother is not burned for his insolence. Mainly because despite his butchering of her noble name, it’s always said with the right amount of reverence to stay her hand. Azula always did appreciate a good minion.

Zuko continues to refer to her as Lala even when he becomes old enough to properly pronounce words, and though she would never admit it, and would likely execute whoever was foolish enough to point it out, she eventually grew…...fond of the way her brother addressed her.

She was unused to people saying her name the way Zuko did. With genuine love and affection. Like he actually enjoyed being around her. Before long, she starts to crave hearing the little voice that would call out to her so sweetly.

It was…...nice to be addressed without stilted politeness, underlying fear, horrified exasperation or clinical coldness.

Thus, Azula allows the nickname.

Her father was a different story.

Azula never finds out what he did but she learns during one of their training sessions that her Father had seen fit to break Zuko out of his childish habit. 

“It’s a disgrace.’” He said with a sneer that curdled her stomach, when Azula asks for elaboration, “He’s three years old and shouldn't refer to by such a juvenile moniker. I’d thought you might have taken care of it, but I simply could not allow such an embarrassing habit to continue.”

Azula puts on an air of gratitude and thanks her father with a fake sincerity she’s perfected over the years. Inside, she is a fearful wreak.

After her lesson, she relentlessly hunts down her brother, finds him not in any of his familiar spots , but instead hunched over in an abandoned corner. 

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere, Dum-Dum.” 

“Sowwy Azula.” 

The physical blow of hearing her full name from Zuko’s lips had nearly sent her reeling. But she was Azula and she was always composed, and so she doesn’t comment on it, does not correct him, does not react and simply takes Zuko to the healers to be patched up.

(After that day, Zuko never called her Lala again.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zuko and Azula loved each other but were unable find a healthy way to express it because the Fire Nation Royal Family is a mess and the sibling bond they could have had was tarnished by parental favoritism on both sides and they both deserved better and in this essay I will-


	4. Aang should learn to plan ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyoshi Island is not fire proof. It's a good thing for them that Zuko values diplomacy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry. This chapter was supposed to be out two Saturdays ago or at the very least this past Saturday but work looked me in the eye and said “You’re my bitch this month.” So yeah. A little late but twice as long.
> 
> Also I can not decide what to do with Toph so I’m leaving it up to you guys. Should I swap her or not?
> 
> Also part 2: I know alot of people want Aang to successfully kidnap Zuko, and wonder why Iroh wont let him take him. Well, Iroh is a little more protective of Zuko here especially with his weak body. He is absolutely on Aang’s side in the war and he wants Zuko to be around kids his own age and have fun, sure, but he has a limit. You gotta see it from his point of view. Would you trust your chronically ill 12 year old nephew to a bunch of kids? 
> 
> Plus, do you really think Azula would sign off on that? She has a plan you see. It does not involve the Avatar kidnapping her precious brother. Yet.

The summons from her Father is later than Azula would have expected. 

News of the Avatar’s returns had been public knowledge for a few days now.

And yet she was just now being summoned. Curious.

She is not scared, nor nervous. She has allotted for every possible outcome. An impressive task considering the narrow timeline she was given to act, but Azula was well versed in working under pressure. 

The Throne Room is dimly lit, the flickering flames behind the Sunlit throne reflecting The Fire Lord’s neutral mood.

She is calm as she kneels before her Father.

“Father, You summoned me?”

“The Avatar has returned.”

Disbelief. Anger. Apprehension. Annoyance. It’s amazing how many emotions her father could fit into one sentence spoken with such monotone.

“Yes. I heard the Fire Sages spread the news. Alarmist fools. They have the Capitol in quite a tizzy.”

The flames behind her father jumped. Azula lowered her head.

_Breathe in. Breathe out. Focus on the tiles._

“I care not for the theatrics of those foolish nobles. I care that the biggest threat to our reign has returned and I publicly handed the responsibility of his capture to your idiot waste of a brother.”

“I do not understand, Father. Surely you do not think Zuko is capable of capturing the Avatar. Is that not what you gave him the task?” 

Sweat beads against Azula forehead as the heat of the throne room becomes stifling. 

“It’s not about capability, daughter. It’s about image. When there was no Avatar, your brother was merely a foolish and delusional child. Now he is a valiant, young Prince leading the charge against our Nation’s biggest threat.”

Her father takes a moment to collect himself. Azula focuses on the floor.

“There have been mutterings amongst the court that I acted too harshly towards your brother.” Her Father says this with an air of disbelief, as if he cannot fathom why anyone would think such. Fire and bile churn in the back of her throat as Azula forces out her response.

“You did what needed to be done father. You know how sensitive the nobility are. They do not understand the choices one needs to make to ensure a strong dynasty.”

“I’m pleased you agree, Princess Azula. But mutterings turn to sympathy and sympathy can turn into a cause. A cause is something I cannot allow and I cannot publicly rescind the task I have given your brother, you understand?”

“Yes.” Such a corner, her father had backed himself into. Perhaps if he had thought to be a decent father instead of a monster.

“You have been in correspondence with your brother.”

It was not a question.

“Yes Father. I have.”

“Why?”

Her response is conditioned, practiced.“Zuko is a fool and a weakling, but Uncle is not. We both know who the real power on that ship is. We both know how Iroh feels towards you and how he supports Zuko. He has friends in high places despite his fall from grace. It would not do well to leave a wildcard like that unsupervised. By keeping up correspondence I keep up to date on Uncle’s plans in the guise of care.”

Her Father leans back against his throne, the related line of his shoulders telling Azula that he is pleased with her answer. She knew her father was no fool. He’d known since the start of her and Zuko’s correspondence. He just wanted to hear that it was not due to any sort of affection.

Predictable, but infuriating all the same.

“Have these letters bore fruit?”

“Yes Father. I was able to use the information I gathered from Zuko to direct Zhao, who is stationed not too far from their ship, to intercept their tracking of the Avatar. I believe I’ll be able to continue to intercept their efforts as long as I keep in correspondence with Zuko.”

The flames dim. 

“Very good, daughter. I admit your Uncle is an oversight I had not accounted for. But he is clever for a fool. He could very well rally a cause behind your brother. You were right to take precautions. “

“I aim to serve, father.”

“Indeed?” Azula tenses at the drop in her father's registrar. “Well then, would you care to explain why it is that you intercepted the boy’s letters to **_me_ **?”

_Because you never cared about them before?_

_Because someone should make the effort of reading the letters Zuko so obviously painstakingly checked and double checked?_

_Because she would absolutely not see Zuko’s efforts go to waste?_

“Because they were far from worthy of your time, of course. I took it upon myself to read through the letters for any prudent information. As you have never heard mention of them, you are aware that they contained nothing of importance.”

“OH? So you believe the return of the Avatar was not worthy of my attention, daughter?”

.

_Breathe in. Breathe out. Focus on the tiles._

“Zuko’s recent letters to me made no mention of the Avatar. His recent correspondence have only given away his coordinates and vague intent which I relay to Zhao. I believe Uncle is screening the letters.”

It’s a blatant lie and that’s why her father believes her. He would never expect her to lie to his face.

  
“I see. Nonetheless, you may stop intercepting my letters from your brother. I shall be following your example and keeping a closer eye on the boy. From now on, I expect you to hang on to any letter your brother sends you, so I may read them for myself. ”

  
  


Azula’s sly smile hides the inferno of anxiety blazing in her stomach. “Oh drat, and I did so enjoy burning them.”

  
  


Her father's eyes glitter in the dancing flames, his smirk coated in poisonous delight at her cruelty.

“Perhaps I shall allow you to continue that practice. You are dismissed, Princess Azula.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

It’s only after she’s left the throne room, when she’s tucked safely away within the walls of her rooms does Azula let her mask drop. 

The draperies on her bed and her dresser are a smoldering pile of ash by the time the red bleeds from her vision. 

Her letters to Zuko were the one thing, the one thing between them, safe from their father’s oppressive gaze and now she no longer had even that. Azula knew realistically the letters would soon become an issue, even if the Avatar had not returned, but how she had hoped for them to remain untainted for just a little bit longer….

Well, no use dwelling on failures. She had a plan for this, as she did for everything.

When she emerges from her room, she is perfectly composed, not a hair out of place. The ideal Princess. The Iron Lady.

Just like always.

Nothing has changed. 

Nothing is different.

No matter the obstacles thrown in her path, no matter how much her father took, no matter the way the winds turned, Azula knew she could do this. 

After all, Ozai had been able to successfully mask his desire to overthrow Grandfather as blind loyalty for years. 

And Azula was, most assuredly, her father’s daughter.

000000000000

Zuko does not sneak off the Wani. 

To sneak off the Wani would imply that he could be denied permission to leave. And according to Azula’s lessons for ‘Successful Handling of Your Minions™’ :Royalty cannot be denied anything.

So technically, he hadn’t snuck off. 

He’d simply left the Wani. 

Without telling anyone.

While taking extra precautions to ensure that Uncle and Lt. Jee didn't notice him leaving,

By going through the port hole in his room.

If you ask him, it is completely within his rights to do so and if Uncle and Lt. Jee have a problem with it, they can file a complaint in the suggestion box (i.e The furnace).

Plus, the fishing city of Kyoshi is neutral territory, so Zuko isn't really breaking any rules by visiting them. And really, if he was to be a great Prince one day he had to practice his diplomacy. 

Or at least that’s what Uncle always told him.

His commandeered boat rocks gently against the cool ocean waves, as the salty scent of the sea tickles his nose. Zuko leans over the side, memorized by the bright blue waters. It was nothing he’d never seen before of course, but you couldn’t be a Sailor without gaining a deep appreciation for the sea. He leans over further, lets the tips of fingers trail against the water’s surface.

“Wha-” he draws his fingers back as violently as his boat rocks violently. Looking up from the water, his shock quickly turned into delight at the sight in front of him.

An Elephant Koi! 

Zuko nearly over balances and falls into the sea from the force in which he throws himself against the side of the boat. But he can't help himself. He’d always wanted to see an Elephant Koi up close and here they were! Right in front of him!

And they were so pretty!

He watches in speechless awe as one soars over his boat, bringing forth a cascade of water as it dives back into the sea.

Zuko bursts into a fit of giggles as the waves from the Koi rocks his boat gently back and forth. He scrambles on top of the roof of his cabin to get a better look.

There was a whole pod of them! He counts one. Three. Seven and -

Zuko’s awe quickly turns to worry as he gets a closer look at the pod. Something was on the fins of one of the smaller Elephant Koi.

Something like a strange growth. 

A strange growth with arms...and legs...

What a minute.

Zuko blinks rapidly, trying to make sure the thing in front of him was what he was actually seeing because it almost looked like there was a person riding on one of the Elephant Koi. A very familiar person…..

“Zuko?!”

Huh?

The Elephant Koi’s growth is gone and flying towards him and-.

Oh no.

The ship rocks violently as a swimsuit clad body crashes into the roof.

“Ack!”

Zuko’s saved from toppling over and falling headfirst into the water by lightly muscled arms that lift him off his feet and crush him against a solid, wet chest. He screeches as his armor is subsequently drenched in salt water and immediately begins to claw at his assailant.

“UNHAND ME FILTH!”

“It's good to see you again too, little friend.”

Zuko’s struggles momentarily cease. He knows that voice.

“Avatar?” Sparkling grey eyes beam down at him.

“The one and only!” Zuko’s head spins as the Half naked menace gently swings him back and forth. “Who would have thought I'd see you here of all places. How have you been, my little firefly?” 

Zuko flushes in mortification at the term of endearment. How dare the Avatar address him so familiarly!? And really? FIREFLY!? That was something you called a **_kid_ **not someone who was practically a grown up!

“Don’t call me that! Put me down, imbecile!”

The Avatar does not put him down. He actually hugs him even tighter.

The insolence.

“ I can’t believe you’re here. I was hoping to see you again.”

What a coincidence.

“I was hoping to find you here as well. Avatar.” Zuko makes sure to use his raspy, threatening voice, puts on his best Azula-esque smirk, to perfectly convey his dangerous image “In fact, I was on my way to ensure that I could….. _personally_ welcome you. To a CELL!” The dark cell, with the spiders.

Instead of looking scared at the obvious threat, the Avatar actually looks delighted.

“Ah, you really came just to see me!?” Of all the idiotic - Zuko can not stand to be around such stupidity any longer and starts back squirming in earnest.

“NO! I obviously came to capture you, you idiot! Now put me down before I catch your stupid instead!”

The Avatar finally heeds his request and let’s him go but not before sneaking in a quick hair ruffle.

The insolence!

“What are you doing out here in a boat all by yourself, little firefly?

“ Stop calling me a firefly! I’m not a baby! And don't laugh at me!” Zuko snarls, incensed by the indulgent smile on the Avatar’s face.

“Yes, yes but y’know, I’m glad to see some things haven’t changed. “ The Avatar’s eyes have taken on a hazy look, and he smiles a bit wistfully. “Kuzon used to hate it when his Mom called him firefly too.”

“Who the fuck is Kuzon?” And why was the Avatar mentioning him like Zuko was supposed to know who that was? He doesn’t get an answer though, because the Avatar is too busy looking at him in abject horror.

“WHOA! Don’t say that Zuko! That's a grown up word!”

Zuko rolls his eyes. “I **_am_ ** a grown up.”

  
  
“No you’re NOT!”

“YES I AM! In the eyes of the Fire Nation I am an adult! And adults can say whatever they want. They do not get hugs or hair ruffles and they're definitely not called _fireflies_! ”

Honestly, Zuko doesn’t know how many times he’s gonna have to reiterate that fact. He’s had to explain this to Uncle and the crew dozens of times. For one thing, his father wouldn’t have given him such an important task if he viewed Zuko as anything less than a fully realized adult. And for another, kids can't be banished . In the eyes of the law, the second he was banished from the Fire Nation, was no longer considered a boy but a man and Zuko would not dishonor his father by denying the increase in rank he so graciously bestowed on him.

The Avatar has a strange expression on his face, kinda like the one Uncle has when he thinks Zuko doesn’t notice he’s looking at him. A sad type of look, that Zuko doesn’t understand but still makes him feel small and pitiful.

He hated it.

“Look Kiddo-”

“I’m NOT a kid!” Did the Avatar not know how to listen?!

“Zuko, you cant-ack!” 

It’s only Zuko’s years at sea that keep him from following the Avatar to the deck as the boat rocks violently.

Immediately losing interest in anything the Avatar has to say, Zuko bolts over to the side of the boat, hoping that it's Elephant Koi. But the figure that breaks the water’s surface, that rises higher and higher until it blocks out the sun, that’s covered in scales and brandishes fangs the length of his boat is absolutely something Zuko did not want a closer look at.

Someone is screaming. It’s probably the Avatar.

The monster noodle roars and strikes faster than Zuko can comprehend. 

He feels arms encircle him again and he’s overtaken by vertigo as he’s launched into the air. Blood rushes to his head, clothes weave and flap as he and the Avatar soar through the air.

He looks back down in time to see the monster noodle devour his ship. Whole.

That could have been him.

That thought has him burying his face into a warm shoulder. And he doesn’t take it out as they land on what he assumes is solid land.

“It’s okay, little firefly. It's okay.” He’s bounced lightly as a hand runs circles along his back. “I got you. You’re fine. You’re safe.”

Zuko doesn’t trust himself to speak just yet, he looks over his shoulder just in time to see the Monster Noodle tail disappear under the ocean surface.

“What was that thing?” And his voice isn’t shaking because he’s scared. He was cold, from the water on his armor. 

Yeah.

“That’s the Unagi. It guards Kyoshi Island.”

It would have been nice if someone had informed him beforehand that there was a Monster Noodle in the water! He still would’ve gone out but he would have been a little more careful.

That thing had been in the ocean with him. It could have grabbed him by the hand when he touched the water and dragged him into the ocean and no would have known where he was! Unconsciously, his arms tighten around the Avatar, who responds in kind.

“And here I thought adults didn’t like hugs.” The Avatar’s tone is good natured but it still has Zuko bristling.

“I’m not _hugging_ you. I’m restraining you with my body. “

The Avatar laughs. Hmph, we’ll see who's laughing when Zuko’s grip cuts off his circulation , effectively making it impossible for him to flee. Plus, he left his neck vulnerable to Zuko's grip. Really, the Avatar should count himself lucky that Zuko prefers diplomacy over needless bloodshed.

If he was Azula… well….

“Well, now that you’ve caught me I am now at your command. Shall I escort you away from the water, my prince?”

Zuko nods. Getting away from the water sounded really good. How nice of the Avatar to understand his place as Zuko’s ferry.

But first there’s something he has to know.

“Was it fun… riding the Elephant Koi?” The Avatar looks back at him in surprise, and then beams, his eyes sparkling.

“You bet! It was amazing. Words really cannot express it! You have to try it yourself, w-with me supervising of course.”

“And it doesn't hurt them does it?”

It better not. If it did, Zuko might have to rethink his stance on non lethal force.

Lucky for the Avatar, he looks positively scandalized at the mere notion.  
  


“Of course not! I’d never do anything that could potentially harm an animal!”

Okay, so maybe Zuko wont put the Avatar in the bad cell.

He can go in the nice cell. 

The one with the windows.

000000000000

Katara, bless her, takes Zuko’s sudden appearance in stride. 

“GET AWAY FROM ME SAVAGE!”

As well as his temper.

Katara tuts as she continues drying off Zuko’s hair, effortlessly dodging his flailing limbs.

“That’s enough of that mister. Stop squirming so I can finish drying your hair, or do you want to catch a chill?”

  
  
“I CAN DO IT MYSELF! I’M NOT A BABY!”

“Of course not. No one’s saying you are, dear. That’s why I’m sure you can get dressed by yourself.”

  
  
“OF COURSE I CAN!”

“Good.” Katara shoves a bundle of clothes into Zuko’s arms. “ So go change out of that wet armor and into these warm clothes, and we’ll take you to the village leader so you can negotiate Aang’s capture.”

Aang can only watch in awe as Zuko takes the clothes and stomps behind a nearby screen to change, without a single hint of protest. Never before has he seen such expert handling. It is truly the work of a Master.

  
  
“Teach me your ways, Sifu Katara.” Katara chuckles and follows him out of the hut.

“Bending first. Child wrangling second.”

Spirits, she was amazing.

They head towards the village square, barely dodging that creepy foaming mouth guy and the group of fawning girls that Aang somehow acquired, with the hopes of getting to the Village head and explaining how he might find himself beset upon by a miniature Prince looking for a diplomacy meeting. 

Instead, they ran into Suki and her personal shadow.

“Hey! Katara!Aang” Sokka chirps when he sees them. He runs up to them and strikes what Aang assumes is supposed to be a threatening pose. “Check out my awesome super secret warrior outfit.”

Katara hides what Aang is sure is a squeal behind clasped hands, her eyes sparkling as she takes in her brother dressed in a miniature version of the Kyoshi Warrior grab. Aang bites his lip at his tiny charge, to keep from following her lead, for Sokka does not look very deadly at all. The only way he could really kill anyone is probably from cuteness.

“I see you have quite a dedicated pupil there, Sifu Suki.”

Aang smiles sympathetically at the harassed expression that crosses Suki’s face.

“Very dedicated.” She says and shrugs in the language of _‘He’s just the right amount of cute for me to not find it annoying though."_

“Well, now that I have you both there’s something I need to tell you, In fact, I need to explain this to you very quickly because a lot of things are going to happen really soon that you need to be caught up on and-”

“You. Painted woman! Are you the leader of this village!? If so, I demand your council!”

“Um.” It’s really all Aang can say as Suki starts in shock and Sokka immediately shifts through a range of emotion that starts at shock and stops at pure unadulterated rage.

“YOU!” Sokka’s menacing snarl would have been much more intimidating if he did not currently look like the world’s most adorable doll. He brandishes his boomerang at Zuko threateningly. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!”

Realistically, Aang knew Sokka and Zuko’s meeting might not go well, considering their last _'encounter'_. He admits he hadn’t planned for it when he brought Zuko back to Kyoshi Village. In hindsight, it’s honestly something he should have considered.

But honestly, his mind was too preoccupied planning the seating arrangements on Appa now that they had an extra member. And daydreaming about Zuko’s reaction to his first ride on Appa. 

(He may not have seen Sokka’s but nothing would deprive him of his second chance with Zuko.)

As he looks at the tense standoff, however, he realizes that he probably should have planned for this instead.

This might be on him.

Sokka may as well be a particularly boring tree for all the attention Zuko pays him. He doesn’t so much as acknowledge Sokka’s existence and instead walks closer to Suki.

“HEY DON'T IGNORE ME!”

“Silence peasant! I have business with the village leader.” 

Suki looks between Zuko and Sokka. She buries her face in her hands.

“Oh no, not another one.”

Zuko pays Suki’s despair no mind. “I’m here to negotiate with you for the exchange of the Avatar into my custody.” 

“THE HECK!? YOU’RE NOT TAKING AANG ANYWHERE, TEENY!”

“That’s not for you to decide, clown. This is between me, The Avatar and the Village Head. And DON’T call me Teeny.”

“DON'T CALL ME A CLOWN!”

“How can I not call you a clown when you look like a clown? A stupid big-eared idiot clown. Do you expect me to lie?”

“That’s it!” Sokka snarls with a foot stomp for emphasis. “You’re going down teeny! Taste the fury of my brand new super secret elite warrior skills!”

Thankfully, before Sokka can launch himself at Zuko, Suki grabs him by the caller.

“We do not use Kyoshi Warrior techniques to bully smaller kids.” She says, giving Sokka a light shake. “And I’m not the Village Head kiddo, though I’m quite flattered you think so.”

Sokka is snarling a tsunami in Suki’s hold.

“You better be glad she’s holding me back Scarface, or I’d make your face even uglier!”

“Sokka!” Katara gasps. Aang doesn’t miss the way Zuko flinches at Sokka’s jab. “ That’s uncalled for! You apologize….”

“I don't need your aid, peasant.” Venom is practically leaking from Zuko’s voice. He takes a step forward, fists smoking. Aang realizes this might be spiraling out of control. “Let him go, Painted Woman. I can take him.”

“You’re crazy if you think I’m letting you get into a firefight in my Village, baby Ashmaker. Put that smoke away now. We talk with our words here.”

“Thank you Suki. Now Sokka, stop trying to attack Zuko and…..”

  
  
“WHY ARE YOU TAKING HIS SIDE AANG!? HE’S OUR ENEMY!”

“Sokka, I’m not-”

“THEN HELP ME DESTROY HIM BEFORE HE-!”

“Sokka! That's ENOUGH! ” 

Katara's firm older sister's voice does what Aang’s weak mutterings and Suki’s firm grip cannot. Sokka goes limp in Suki’s hold. What's more surprising however is that Zuko also immediately stands down, although he looks a bit spooked by his subconscious reaction. 

Seeing the prospect of bloodshed decrease, Suki lets go of Sokka, who crosses his arms with a pout. Zuko does the same, minus the pout.

For one brief moment, Aang thinks things are calming down. 

“Hmph, I wouldn’t be so eager to fight me if I were you. Y’know, considering what happened during our _last_ fight.”

Or not. It seems that when he’s denied the satisfaction of a physical confrontation, Sokka will resort to trash talking.

  
  


“Oh, you mean when you utterly failed at killing me with your stupid boomerang?” Zuko asks with a haughty brow raise. “Or how you **_missed_ **me with your stupid boomerang. Should we just talk about your utter ineptitude with your stupid boomerang in general?”

Aang winces at the expertise in which Zuko wields his trashtalk. As much as he wanted to remain impartial, he knows this is not a fight Sokka was going to win.

“Stop calling my boomerang stupid!” Sokka’s blush bleeds through the makeup on his face as he throws a quick look toward Suki. “And I didn't miss you with my boomerang. I totally hit you! Stop lying!”

“Yeah, if the meaning for "hit" was recently replaced with "missed by an entire continent," then you absolutely _‘hit me’_.” Zuko adds in air quotes, just for maximum sarcasm.

“You teeny little….”

  
  
“I told you, don’t call me _teeny_.”

“So Suki,” Aang says desperately, as Zuko and Sokka attempt to glare each other to death. “Could you take us to the Village Head, so Zuko can talk to him?”

“Aang, you can't seriously be considering surrendering to this Teeny jerk!?” Sokka interjects before Suki can answer.

Aang considers the merits of planning all future decision making ahead of time. Before he can open his mouth to appease Sokka and hopefully salvage this new member acquisition, he’s cut by a very loud interjection.

“ I SAID STOP CALLING ME TEENY! YOU HAVE LIKE TWO INCHES ON ME TOPS!”

Sokka, shocked by the sudden outburst, abruptly falls silent and stares at the huffing Prince. They all do. No one had been expecting such a violent outburst, least of all Zuko, who looked horrified at his slip. 

An awkward silence settles on the group. And then to Aang’s horror, Sokka slowly smirks the smirk of _"You have just given me ammunition and you will now suffer for it.’_

Oh dear. This will not end well.

_“Sokka-”_

Katara’s warning comes too late. 

“Teeny!Teeny!Teeny! TeenyTeenyTeenyTeenyTeenyTeeny!” Sokka taunts in the loudest, most obnoxious voice he possibly can, waving his finger at Zuko mockingly. 

Zuko is steaming, literally, and Aang immediately moves to interject, because Kyoshi Village is not fireproof and neither is Sokka.

. 

“Okay you two,” Aang has to raise his voice just to hear himself over Sokka's escalating yells of _‘Teeny’_ , “lets just calm down-”

Too late.

“IM GOING TO KILL YOU!” Zuko strikes out, not with a flame, to Aang’s relief, but with a fist. Sokka dodges, immediately taking off laughing like a maniac, with Zuko hot on his heels.  
  


“Be careful everyone. Teeny Pipsqueak coming through. Make sure you don't step on him!”

“ARRGH!!”  
  


“Um, should we stop them?” Suki asks worriedly, watching Sokka and Zuko race off.

Aang considers it, but Katara beats him to the punch.

“Nah, let them play. They’ll tire themselves out eventually.”

000000000000

Sokka collapses against a stomp, utterly out of breath. Turns out a long armored dress and heavy makeup wasn't suited for marathon sprints. Who knew?

“Time…..out.” He pants to his miniature adversary.

“There’s no…...timeouts…..in duels…….stupid.” Hmph, those were bold words coming from someone sprawled on the ground like a octasquid.

“Alright, come over here and finish the fight then.” For a minute, Prince Teeny seriously looks like he's considering it, but flops back to the ground with groan.

“You are not worth the effort, peasant.”

“Whatever.” 

Sokka leans fully against his stump and takes a brief respite to fully observe his foe.

The Prince looks utterly wiped out. Like Sokka is tired, but shorty looks absolutely wrecked. He almost looks like a bowl of squid noodles with how loose his limbs are and his face is drenched in sweat. Even his stupid ponytail was droopy.

All in all he looked pretty pitiful.

Sokka can't resist getting a taunt in while he’s down.

“You know, I’m surprised you didn't catch me. Thought that ugly half bald hairstyle would make you more aerodynamic.

“I’m surprised you didn't hear me coming before I even got here with those gigantic Elephantbison ears you have.” Prince Teeny snaps back immediately. Seems being tired didn't interfere with his ability to be a jerk.

“ Ah,why don't you get up on a chair so you can say that to my face?”

“Fuck you.”

  
  
Sokka gasps.

“HEY! You can't say that! That’s a curse word!”  
  


“Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck. You.” Sokka’s ears are burning, partly because of Teeny’s words and partly because the verbal spar has clearly been lost on his end once again. There was no retort or insult in his arsenal to combat such an adult response. 

Well, he _could_ respond in kind but he won't risk it. Knowing Katara, she would manifest out of thin air before he could even form the word, soap in hand. 

Speaking of which… maybe Sokka hasn’t lost after all.

“Just wait until I tell Katara what you said.” His threat, however, is brushed off with a dismissive snort.

“I’m not scared of your lame sister.”

“Don't call my sister lame you Teeny jerk.” Only Sokka could call his sister lame! “You’re lame.”  
  
“She fights using water. That’s lame!”

“Hey, my sister could kick your butt!”

“Yeah,well my sister could annihilate your entire family.”

Sokka is momentarily struck speechless. He doesn't know what to address first, the fact that Teeny has a sister, the irony behind his statement (considering , y’know, the whole Air Temple thing) or the way that the kid says it so matter-of-factly. Like it’s not an exaggeration or a brag, but a stone cold fact.

\-----------

Miles away, locked away in her bedroom and hunched over a desk, Azula smirks as she’s overcome with the feeling of smug pride.

She makes a note to include some fireflakes in her secret care package to Zuko. 

Just because.

\----------

“Your sister sounds like a complete psycho.”

Teeny does not take offense. Instead, he nods with a fond, almost worshiping, smile.

“Yeah….”

Not the typical way one should react to someone calling their sister a psycho. 

The Fire Nation was weird.

Teeny falls silent as Sokka works to get his breathing back under control. The wind rustled against his cheek, cooling him down and setting him at ease.

Well, as at ease as he could be camped out so close to his mortal enemy. Who still wasn't moving by the way.

“Hey, Teeny. “ Sokka calls, “ Break times over. Let’s finish this duel now!” He tenses, preparing himself to sprint the second Teeny lunges at him.

Except, Teeny doesn’t lunge at him. He doesn’t move at all.

“Hey Teeny! Me. You. Duel. Now.”

Nothing. 

Grumbling, Sokka hauls himself to his feet and cautiously makes his way over to his prone adversary.

“Hey, Teeeeeeny?”

As he creeps closer, the reasoning behind Teeny’s stillness becomes clear and it promptly sends Sokka back to the ground, from sheer disbelief alone.. 

The twerp was asleep! He was actually asleep!

Disbelief gives way to indignation.What kinda foe fell asleep in the middle of a duel! It was Unseemly! Disrespectful! Sokka has half the mind to knock the little twerp awake with his boomerang. 

In fact…..

Sokka hand twitches towards his boomerang. It would serve the jerk right. And Sokka would have bragging rights the next time they battled. Plus, he was Fire Nation. That alone warranted a good knock upside the head.

However, as his hand grips his boomerang, he knows he’s not going to do it. Awake, he might be an ugly flamey jerkface, but for some reason, it felt wrong to attack Teeny while he was asleep. Kinda like hitting a baby sealotter. That wouldn’t be a win.

Besides, Sokka is an honorable warrior. And no matter how much of a jerk he was, an honorable warrior did not attack an opponent while they were down. 

If Sokka was gonna beat Teeny, he would do it in a fair fight. His honor as a man depended on it.

With a firm nod to himself, Sokka leans back against his stump. The little glade they’ve stopped in is peaceful, quiet. Nothing but the sounds of wildlife and Teeny's soft snores.

Sokka feels his eyes grow heavy. His stump **_was_ **pretty comfortable. And he couldn’t very well do honorable battle if he was tired.

Maybe…. Just a short rest wouldn't be so bad……..

000000000

**Meanwhile, on the Wani……**

“Lt. Jee, do you mind watching the ship while I take one of our sloops out? “

“Of course, General Iroh. Are you off to scout Kyoshi Island?”

“No, it would seem that I need to retrieve my nephew.”

“Very Good, si- wait what!?”

“Yes, I just saw that one of our sloops was gone and my nephew’s room is empty. I need to retrieve him before the Avatar gets it into his head to try and abduct him again.”

“WHAT?! BUT! HOW?! WHAT?!”  
  


“Next time, make sure his porthole is locked, Lt. Jee.”

“Y-yes, G-general Iroh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sokka, literally only 2½ inches taller than Zuko: ahahaha, how are you that small?  
> Zuko: I will break off your fucking kneecaps.  
> Aang: LANGUAGE!


	5. Iroh and Katara schedule a Playdate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aang lacks object permanence and doesn't understand why that's dangerous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They reduced hours at my jobs so my paycheck has been slashed. I had a health scare that resulted in a $200 self pay bill and my Dad is out on disability so he’s currently not working and we’re two months behind on rent. Fanfiction is how I cope. It’s all I have left to keep my sanity intact.
> 
> Also, the people have spoken. We shall have feral Oldest-member-of-the-Gaang Toph running away from a marriage proposal. Just remember, you guys asked for this. Now, look Katara and Aang in the face and apologize.

_Ty lee loved her life in the circus._

_The freedom. The excitement. The fact that whenever some called her name, they didn't run through all of her sisters' names before they got to hers._

_She had been 11 when she made the decision to leave the Capitol behind and experience true happiness, carried by a whim and a yearning for freedom._

_Even two years later, she could remember that day in the Royal Garden, when she told the only people in her life she cared enough to let know that she was running off to join the circus._

_Mai had called her an idiot._

_Azula had called her a disgrace._

_Zuko had cried for two hours straight and refused to let go of her leg._

_So naturally, Zuko was the one Ty Lee missed the most._

_Oh, of course she missed her friends, missed Azula’s sharp wit and Mai’s dull humor, but nothing made her homesick more than the tiny boy who trailed behind their little group with the gusto of a baby turtleduck.Who cheered for all of Ty lee's stunts even when she them messed up and pouted Azula and Mai into submission when their remarks got a little too cutting._

_She wouldn’t lie, Zuko had definitely been more than a bit of incentive to befriend Azula. In a family full of girls you kind of wonder what it’s like to have a brother._

_And if Zuko was any indication, maybe a life in the circus wouldn't have called to her had her parents seen fit to gift her one._

_Zuko was as sweet as sugar and just the right size to scoop up and cuddle whenever she felt like it._

_And she felt like it_ **_a lot._ **

_Though not too much. Since, as with many things, Azula was very possessive over what she considered hers._

_And Zuko was most definitely Azula’s. Not her possession, but still hers._

_Because it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Azula_ **_adored_ ** _Zuko, no matter how much she acted to the contrary. Sure, Azula liked to pretend that she couldn’t stand it when Zuko trailed behind her like a little turtleduck. She would growl and grumble, all whilst shooting Zuko sharp glares and sharper retorts, but she could never really hide the way her eyes would light up when Zuko called her name, or how her whole body relaxed when he was near._

_And in those moments when it was just them, tucked away in their garden, away from the prying eyes of the court, of judgmental nobles and overbearing parents, Azula would let her mask slip, just a bit. Let her face soften into something that vaguely resembled fondness._

_It was adorable, and it made the decision to stick with Azula that much easier, despite her...intense attitude._

_No one who looked at someone with that much love could be all bad._

_And so she left, content in the knowledge that even without her around, her frien- her family would be okay._

_How wrong she had been._

_The royal messenger hawk that sits primly in her tent one night after a show is an ill omen even she can recognize. Azula made it quite clear that she would not keep up correspondence with Ty Lee should she join the circus, something about it being unseemly for royalty to consort with wandering vagabonds. And she had kept true to her word._

_Until now._

_It’s with no small amount of hesitation that Ty Lee takes the message from its foot, unrolls it and reads._

**_“Zuko’s been banished.”_ **

_Three words. One sentence. And yet they carried a novel’s worth of devastation that almost brought Ty lee to tears. The crooked letters, the numerous ink stains. So unlike Azula, who valued perfection above everything._

_Except her little brother._

_Ty Lee immediately writes back a novel's worth of word vomit, littered with sympathies, condolences and worry for both her honorary brother and best friend._

_The next letter Azula sends is just as messy and somehow twice as devastating._

**_“It was my fault.”_ **

_And this, more than anything, alarmed Ty Lee enough to shake her to her core. Because Azula, perfect Azula, infallible Azula, never failed at anything . And even if she did, Agni’s light would fade from the sky sooner than she would admit it._

_And yet she had, to Ty Lee of all people._

_The show the night she receives Azula’s second letter is one of the circus's biggest, one that draws eager attendees from near and far, and yet it goes on without its biggest star, who holes herself in her room and writes with a fever that breaks her quill in two._

_She has to know everything that happened in her absence._

_Over the course of their exchange, Ty Lee learns that true evil lies within the hearts of men, in cruel fathers who brand and banish babies._

_In time, Azula gains enough control over herself that her letters reflect the Azula she shows to the world._

_Poised. Cold. Perfect._

_But Ty Lee isn't fooled. So the next letter she sends back, unlike the ones that came before, is short and simple._

**_“What do you need?”_ **

_She received her reply a day later._

**_“Be ready.”_ **

_And Ty Lee immediately knows what that means, knows what she’s being trusted with, knows the worth of her value to Azula from those two simple words alone._

_Azula was trusting her with half of her heart. Her most valued treasure._

_She would not let that trust be misplaced._

_Ty Lee is a free spirit. Goofy. Ditzy. An airhead, even by her own definition._

_But she’s also the daughter of a nobleman and Azula’s best friend. It stands to note that she has enough cunning to put to good use._

_So as she travels, she makes connections, she makes new friends. And as sociable as she is, she can’t help but to let those new friends know of news that she hears from her old friends back at the Capitol._

_Fire Lord Ozai never really learned exactly how news of the true circumstances in which his son received his scar got out. He points his gaze in the direction of overly sensitive nobility, completely ignorant of the bubbly Circus girl who would play a key role in his downfall._

0000000

If there was one constant in Iroh’s life that has not changed since the horrible day he barely escaped being imprisoned for fratricide, it was that his nephew did not sleep easily.

Be it nightmares, hacking coughs that could be heard from the depths of the Wani, anxious energy fueled by homesickness or a combination of the three, it was a generally accepted fact that Prince Zuko was not one to fall asleep naturally.

It’s why Iroh went to such lengths to keep his medicine well stocked. It’s why the crew strived to put him down for scheduled rest times (NOT nap times). It’s why Iroh’s chambers were so close, so he could listen out and act quickly should any night terrors arise.

It was just a fact of life. Agni rose in the west, Fire Lord Ozai was a monster and Prince Zuko did not rest easily.

And yet sprawled before him on the ground, nestled snugly against the younger Water tribe sibling’s side, was his nephew, sleeping as soundly as an infant.

Iroh cannot believe his eyes. Surely, he had not had that much sake the previous night.

He bends down next to his nephew, careful not to rouse the boy or his restmate, and gently brushes his fingers against his brow.  
  


Zuko doesn’t wake. Does not so much as stir.

Amazing.

Not even his medicine could get Zuko to sleep so deeply.

Iroh rocks back on his heels, conflicted. 

He really should get them back to the ship. It wouldn't do well to tarry on Kyoshi Island, not when Zhao was supposedly "intercepting" them. It would make things complicated, or more complicated than Zuko had undoubtedly made them by showing up on Kyoshi in the first place.

And yet….

As if sensing his conflict, Zuko shifts in his sleep, settling deeper against the Water tribe boy’s side, who in turns nuzzles into his nephew's loose embrace with a soft sigh.

And Iroh promptly decides that not even Agni himself could compel him to wake Zuko, or his colorfully painted new friend. He and Azula could handle whatever kinks this threw into their alibi.

Plus, he couldn't very well leave the little water tribe boy unattended in the woods, asleep and vulnerable. 

That would be irresponsible.

With a content hum, Iroh settles down against a nearby tree, keeping a careful eye on his charges while happily committing every possible detail of this adorable image before him to memory. 

0000000

 _Mai had never really_ **_liked_ ** _Azula._

_Too domineering. Too controlling. Too obsessive._

_So very much like Mai’s parents._

_They'd never really been ‘friends’._

_Sure, they weren’t enemies. Mai didn’t hate Azula and Azula didn’t treat her with the cruelty she reserved for anyone else she deemed not worthy of her time._

_But they weren’t friends._

_The bond of companionship between them was forged not through mutual admiration or even a minimum amount of fondness but rather necessity._

_The Crown Princess needed companions._

_Mai’s father wanted prestige._

_Simple._

_Influence overrode comfort. Incentives spoke louder than Happiness._

_The interest Azula had taken to her after their first meeting at the Royal Family for Girls had written a price tag on her back. One her father took no issue with redeeming._

_That very first day she was to meet Azula at the Palace, her Mother dressed her in her best, decorated her hair with ribbons Mai absolutely detested and sent her on her way with strict instructions to be as docile and accommodating to the good Princess as possible._

_“Think about your Father’s career.’ Her mother had said, before shoving her out the door without another look._

  
  


_When she arrived at the palace, she expected to have a horrible time. She expected coldness and misery, an environment not unlike the one at home._

_What she did not expect was to be greeted at the entrance of the Royal Gardens with flowers._

_“Hi, I’m Zuko. Are you Mai? Your ribbons are really pretty.”_

_Mai was momentarily struck speechless._

_Zuko, that was the name of Prince Ozai’s youngest._

_It was on that day that Mai learned that being "Friends" with Azula meant being in the company of her little brother, more often than not._

_If Mai had known that before, she would have made the first move to connect with Azula._

_Zuko, Mai finds, is the complete opposite of his sister in every way. Zuko was sweeter and kinder than anyone in the Royal Family had any right to be. He was shy and softspoken, generous with his smiles and even more so with his affections. Oftentimes, Mai would come home to a lecture because she’d forgotten to take the flowers Zuko randomly gifted her out of her hair._

_It was worth it, because the sight of Zuko’s delighted smile whenever she put the flowers in her hair always carried her through the lecture._

_She wonders why someone like Azulla got to have a brother like Zuko. Zuko, who smiled at Azula while she called him every name under the sun. Zuko, who presented Azula with flowers that she would crush in front of his face. Zuko, who would trail after Azula, no matter how much she taunted and teased and insulted him._

_Azula didn't deserve to have a brother like Zuko, and yet siblings they were._

_Not more than once, Mai would ask herself how it was possible that someone like Azula could be related to someone like Zuko. Honestly, if Zuko wasn’t Azula's spitting image, she’d believe that they weren't related at all._

_It was years later that that question reappeared in her mind, under the worst circumstances imaginable._

_The Capital was abuzz with the latest scandal, the LionTiger den of gossips already spreading the news about the brunt prince and his harsh punishment._

_Mai cornered Azula after **that** day, her composure hanging by a thread so thin it nearly snapped right then and there, fraying dangerously under the bored look Azula wore on her face. _

_“You seem to be in quite a tizzy, Mai. I must say I’ve never seen you this animated before.”_

_“Is it true?!” Azula didn't have to ask what she meant._

_“It is.” She said this with such casual disregard that it took Mai aback._

_When she came back to herself, she almost did the one thing she’d been trained all her life not to do._

_She’d almost lost control._

_She cared too much, because someone had to. Because Ty lee was off galivanting with circus animals and Azula didn't seem to give a single shit._

_“He’s your brother." it took all that Mai was to keep her voice steady and expressionless, “He’s burned, banished and fighting for his life, and you’re treating it like it's just another day. Do you even care?_

_Azula stared at her in that way she did, when she was trying to decide whether she should entertain you, whether you were worth her time._ _  
  
_

_“What do you think?”_

_It was only self-preservation that kept Mai from telling Azula exactly what she thought, from letting her know what a failure of a sister she was and how Zuko deserved better than a monster like her._

_“You don't want to know what I think.” She said, instead._

_Azula’s eyes had frosted over, her lip curling into a sneer._

_“Indeed I don’t. I doubt it would be anything substantial. Nonetheless, it would do well for you to not show your face around the palace for now. I do believe the excitement of yesterday has caused you to take leave of your senses.”_

_Mai distanced herself from Azula. They still remained in contact, because they did have need for each other every once in a while, but the mutual tolerance in their relationship was gone. This fact became easier to deal with whenever she thought about the cold, detached way Azula had answered her, how her expression hadn't so much as twitched._

_How she hadn't even had the Agni damned courtesy of seeing her little brother off._

_Mai thinks of Zuko, of the love he showered on Azula, love that was trampled on and ignored as his heartless monster of a sister carried on as if he never existed._

_And then her brother was born. And in his innocent eyes she sees Zuko. Zuko and his smiles and his hugs and his open affection._

_She thinks of the final glimpse she got of Zuko, grey-skinned and bandaged as he was loaded into a palanquin, never to see his home again._

_She vows with all that she is, that as long as she breathed, she would never forgive Azula for what she had done._

0000000000

It's nearing sunset when Aang, Katara and Suki set off towards the direction the tiny titans of terror took off in.

“ I know we really should be getting on” Aang says as they maneuver around branches and fallen logs, “ But Zuko expressed some interest in riding the Elephant Koi, so I wanted to let him experience that before we leave. And I know I said I settled on the seating arrangement on Appa, but I really think Zuko would benefit from riding in the front with me. What do you think, Katara, Suki?”

“I think that’s fine Aang.” Katara says indulgently. Suki doesn’t say anything, but her newly developed eye twitch is answer enough.

Aang had been going on about Appa and Zuko for about 2 hours. Katara knows it’s only because he was deprived of seeing Sokka's first reaction to flying on Appa. To be fair, it was an adorable once in a lifetime reaction, one you could not properly explain with words despite Katara’s numerous attempts to do so. 

So she lets him have it.

Mainly because she doesn't have the heart to tell him just yet that Zuko would not be leaving with them.

Aang, bless his heart, did not have a talent for thinking ahead and thus did not equate for the biggest obstacle in the way of his acquisition of Zuko. For some reason, he kept forgetting that Zuko had a very trigger happy Uncle who did not take too kindly to Aang’s first attempt at snatching Zuko up.

She really needed to have a talk with him in the future about his lack of object permanence. 

“I think they came through here.” Suki says desperately, cutting off Aang's ramblings. And indeed, there are a number of trampled earth and broken branches that signifies the tiny tornado that blew through. 

Katara hopes Sokka had fun. It looked like he had fun.

The path of destruction leads to a small clearing and dear spirits…..

“Ah so you’ve finally arrived. I was wondering when you would turn up.”

Katara makes an effort to ignore Aang going into spasms of delight at the sight of Zuko and Sokka snuggled together on the forest floor, mainly because if she lost her focus she would join him in his gushing.

And that was a very bad idea, considering they were being stared down by Zuko’s Uncle.

Zuko’s uncle set down the small coin shaped carving in his hand and rose to his feet. He brushed a bit of dirt off his robes and shot Katara a friendly smile. 

“ I was hoping you would get her soon. It was getting late and I wanted to get back to the ship, but I didn't want to leave your little brother alone in the woods without supervision.”

Huh. That was really sweet of him. It would be a lot sweeter if she didn't feel like she was being stared down by an apex predator. He really had not gotten over Aang trying to kidnap Zuko. Though she felt she understood where Aang was coming from as she momentarily let her eyes dart down to Zuko and Sokka. 

  
  


“I’m terribly sorry to have troubled you sir.”

“Oh, it was no trouble at all Miss. However, now that you’re here, I will be taking Zuko back to the ship. We really must be getting on.”

“Taking….Zuko?”

Katara winces. Of all the times for Aang to come back to his senses…..

Zuko’s Uncle turns to face Aang, his smile strained.

“Yes. I’m taking **_my_ ** nephew back to **_our_ **ship. Is there a problem, Avatar?”

“Um, I kinda already made the arrangements on Appa so-“

The old man’s smile sharpens into something less benign. Borderline lethal. Beside her, Suki nervously shifts into a fighting stance.

Katara can’t say she blames her.

No one wants to be unprepared when staring a dragon in the face.

“As I was saying, “ The old man continues as if he was never interrupted. “My nephew and I will be taking our leave. I appreciate you looking after him and I assume getting him into some warm clothes. That was very kind of you all.” While he talks, he carefully detangles Zuko from Sokka (Katara is sure she hears Aang whimper in despair at that) and hoists him into his arms, “ I must say I’ve never seen him so tired out. He looks like he had a lot of fun, but we must be returning to our ship. Do tell your little brother that he’s welcome to play with my nephew should we run across each other again.”

“B-but Appa-“ Katara gently places a hand over Aang's mouth. Her smile is sweet as she turns to the Old Man. She knows an olive branch when she sees one.

“Of course,sir. “ Katara moves forward, and easily scoops Sokka into her arms before stepping back to join Aang and Suki, “We were happy to be of help. Thank you for watching my little brother and tell Zuko that we enjoyed having him and we’ll be sure to drop off his armor the next time we see him.” The old man's smile is twice as sweet.

“ You're too kind, miss.”

“Please, call me Katara.”

“ Oh then, I must insist you call me Iroh.”

There’s a moment of quiet understanding that passes between Katara and the newly named Iroh before they exchange one final friendly nod and turn away from each other in unison.

“B-but Katara,” Aang whines as he and Suki hurry to keep up with her fast pace, “Zuko and Appa and the Elephant Koi.”

“They’ll be time for that later Aang.”

“But-”

“Later, Aang.”

(Once Sokka is settled into bed, Katara sits Aang down and carefully explains the benefits of choosing your battles and self preservation.)

00000000

Zuko is very NOT HAPPY to wake up the next afternoon on the Wani instead of in Kyoshi Village.

He makes sure the entire crew of the Wani knows just how unhappy he is.

Iroh is pretty sure some time during the tantrum his left eardrum burst. He’d be quite relieved when his hearing returned.

Thankfully , during a momentary lapse in the torrid of yells, whines and ample foot stomps, Jee expertly takes Zuko's attention off of his tantrum by presenting the most recent letter from Azula.

And just like magic, all the anger fades at the prospect of hearing from his sister. He nearly rips the paper in his eagerness to unroll the letter.

Iroh peers over Zuko’s shoulder to read what he’s niece wrote. 

_Dear Idiot,_

_Though it appears to be outside the realm of your meager abilities, I urge you to remember what I taught you about subtlety. Keep your plans close and focus on your mission. It’s embarrassing to read your letters detailing literally every aspect of your pitiful attempt at capturing the Avatar. Also,learn the meaning of the word ‘condense’ and apply it to your future reports. Unlike you, I actually have royal duties to attend to and I don't have time to shift through your irrelevant ramblings to get to the point of your horrible attempt at a mission report._

His niece had such a wonderful way with words. Though if the growing grin on Zuko’s face was any indication, he’s not at all bothered by Azula’s harsh words.

“She read my mission report.” He gushes at Iroh, smiling with the approximate brightness of the sun.

Not for the first time, Iroh wonders how on Earth **_their_ **family managed to produce this child.

_Furthermore, I expect two letters every week inside of the usual one. While I was content to hear as little from you as I could, the importance of this mission takes precedence over my comfort. Though I doubt you actually have what it takes to complete your mission, you are nonetheless in charge of a matter that concerns not just the future of the nation but also our bloodline. I won't have you fucking it up._

“Stupid Azula. “ Zuko pouts, his little chest was already puffing up “ I know how important my mission is. I don't need her to tell me and I already almost captured him once! I’ll show her. I won't fail!”

_Finally_ _, take your fucking medicine. If I have to read another letter from his tea loving Kookiness about your inability to properly take care of your health, the next letter I send him will be soaked in contact poison. I’m not joking._

Hmm, at least she had the good grace to warn him. 

So considerate, his neice.

“I have been taking my medicine!” Zuko shoots Iroh a disgruntled pout, “What have you been telling her Uncle!?

Ieoh brought his hands up in defense.

“Nothing any concerned Uncle wouldn’t say, dearheart.” A lie. Getting Zuko to take his medicine was like pulling teeth from Komodorhino. A fact he occasionally mentioned to Azula. This was the exact response he had been waiting for. He doubted he’d now have any trouble getting his nephew to take his medicine , considering that to Zuko, the sun rose and fell on Azula’s command.

But more importantly….

“I think Azula sent you a package with this letter, nephew. Allow me your hold onto your letter while you go and open it.”

He holds a hand out. However, much to Iroh’s confusion, instead of handing over the letter Zuko steps away, holding the letter to his chest protectively.

“How do I know you won't burn it again?” Ah, he should've known that would come back to bite him.

Iroh succeeds in hiding a smile at his nephew's suspicious glare, but just barely. Honestly, the way he’s holding the letter resembled how one would hold a stuffed toy. It’s adorable, and not for the first time Iroh marvels at the fierce adoration Zuko holds for his sister. 

However, Iroh really needed to be in possession of the letter. While nothing within its contents was outright alarming, it nonetheless begged Iroh’s immediate attention, if only for one phrase.

_‘His tea-loving Kookiness’_

Despite his repeated, gentle objections, that was ultimately the secret code that he and Azula had settled on.

Meaning, there was something in that letter that he could not ignore. 

  
So Iroh resorts to fighting dirty.

“ Oh well, if you want your letter to get coated in Fire Flake dust , that’s just as well-”

“Fire Flakes?” Iroh hides another smirk at Zuko’s reverent whisper. 

“Your sister sent you some. I put them down in the galley with Daichi. It was a rather large package, far too much for you to eat before they spoil, so I told the crew they could help themselves and Oof-”

The letter is shoved into his hands without further ceremony. Iroh watches with a fond smile as Zuko races toward the galley, his bellow of _‘ DONT ANY OF YOU FOOLS TOUCH MY FIRE FLAKES! THEY’RE FOR ME!’_ nearly bursting his other eardrum.

Once he is sure his nephew will not return, Iroh lights a small fire in his hand and carefully raises the flame to the parchment, revealing the message hidden within the letter’s contents.

_Father will be reading our correspondence from this point forward. He’s also taken an interest in Zuko’s letters to him. I can no longer intercept them without suspicion. Tread carefully, old man._

The news doesn't come as a surprise. Iroh knew, now that the Avatar had been revealed, that his brother would take interest in his son’s endeavours. How could he not, when the impossible task he’d set his son on was now no longer so impossible? He also knew that he’d become curious over Azula’s letters to Zuko. They'd not planned for any confrontation, only potential fallout, but Iroh trusted Azula to maintain appearances and keep her father none the wiser to their little plot. 

Iroh moves his hand down the page, searching for any other hidden information. His eyes catch a small line of text at the very bottom of the letter. He can't withhold a snort as he reads.

_P.S. I am absolutely not joking about the contact poison._

Iroh didn't think she was.

Still, it was nice of her to warn him a second time. It really made him believe that he and his niece’s relationship was finally evolving.

  
  
  


000000000000

The Avatar’s departure from Kyoshi is not a smooth one.

It took about 20 minutes for the Kyoshi Warriors to let go of Sokka and another 30 for Sokka to let go of Suki.

“It is not goodbye forever little warrior.” Suki whispers to Sokka, who is currently sniffling into her skirt. “Our paths will cross again soon.”

“Promise?” The wobble in Sokka’s voice nearly breaks Suki, who wants nothing more than to scoop him up and keep him by her side forever.

Spirits, Aang was rubbing off on her. 

Suki runs a hand through Sokka's hair, and then lets it rest on his cheek. With a gentle smile she leans down and plants a soft kiss on his forehead, much to the kid’s shock.

“Promise.”

It is easier for her to detach for Sokka, who is wearing a very familiar dazed expression. He stumbles over to Appa, tripping and nearly falling several times before Aang takes pity on him and carries him the rest of the way.

However, Sokka regains his senses just before they take off.

“WAIT FOR ME!” He screams from atop the Bison, leaning over the edge of the saddle as he waves at her frantically. Suki rolls her eyes at the giggles of her fellow Kyoshi warriors and waves back.

“I will!” 

She thinks she hears Katara groan in misery before Appa takes off, leaving them coughing up dust.

“So you’ll wait for him, huh?” Ako says, after the dust clears. She wiggles her brows exaggeratedly. Suki scoffs at her.

“Shut up, you know I wasn’t serious. He’s just too cute to be short with.”

“Oh, you heartbreaker. How dare you mock his love!”

“Please. He’s a kid and it’s a little crush. He’ll forget about me in a day, tops.”

\--------

“Katara! I need you to teach me how to make a betrothal necklace!”

“Oh? A betrothal necklace. What’s that - KATARA WHAT ARE YOU DOING. WE’RE FLYING! KATARA, GET AWAY FROM THE EDGE OF APPA’S SADDLE! KATARA NO! DON’T JUMP!”

  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are few things in life Katara can’t handle. A little brother with a growing interest in girls is one of them.
> 
> On the subject of Ty Lee and Mai: I wanted to make a distinction between Mai and Ty Lee when it comes to how Azula feels about Zuko. Because Mai and Azula are not what you would call close friends, Mai cannot read Azula very well. She can't pick up on her hidden brand of affection( ironically enough), So she wouldn't be able to tell that Azula is putting on a show for her father and the court when it comes to Zuko and she thinks Azula genuinely hates him.
> 
> Ty Lee on the other hand is more empathetic and can pick up Azula’s hidden cues, so she knows with utmost certainty that Azula loves Zuko more than anything. So Ty Lee and Mai both have very different perceptions on how Azula feels about Zuko (who they both adore). 
> 
> This will be a problem later. teehee


	6. Separation Anxiety is not fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko hates hot springs and Sokka hates ghost towns. So naturally, that's where they end up. Oh, and Toph is here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We start to veer into non canon territory. 
> 
> Anyone who is excited for aged up Toph should know that I am the youngest of four daughters and I will be pulling from years worth of experience to write Katara and teenage Toph’s relationship.
> 
> You guys still excited? 
> 
> You shouldn’t be.

“I’ve never been witnessed to such a gross display of disrespect!” Lao Beifong's voice shakes with enough rage to break apart the entirety of the continent. His loud and angry footsteps rattle against the finely tiled floor as he paces back and forth, his anger releasing from his tense from in waves.

Toph delicately takes another bite of rice, fighting to keep her face blank. The heavy vibration of her fathers’ angry footfalls is music to her ears.

“To think we wasted our time, setting up this glorious dinner and over exerted our poor daughter with ceremonial preparation only for her waste of a suitor to not show up to the engagement meeting.”

Well, Toph could agree with that, at least. The heavy makeup was really fucking annoying to deal with.

But sacrifices were necessary for the greater good.

“Dear, calm yourself!” 

“No Poppy! They agreed to the terms of the engagement and yet they back out without having the courtesy to inform us ahead of time.” Her dad sounds like he is frothing at the mouth. Toph eats another mouthful of rice to hide her smirk. “I know what happened! They must have received an offer for a more **_suitable candidate_ **and rather than inform us of this, they took the cowardly way out! Well, if they think I will stand by and watch them insult my daughter so heinously, they are wrong. I will be in my study for the rest of the night. The Wang family shall know the wrath of the BeiFongs!”

The door slams, signifying her father’s exit from the dining hall. There is a moment of awkward silence before her mother sits beside her and takes Toph’s hand in hers.

“I’m so sorry you had to suffer this embarrassment, my sweet Toph. It is disgraceful that the Wang’s would back out of the engagement and not even have the courtesy to send us a missive until the day of. We would never have set you up with that awful boy if we knew his true character.”

“It's okay mother.” Toph says, injecting just enough of a wobble in her voice to sound sincere. “I’m sure one day I’ll find a match who will not mind having a broken wife.”

“Oh, my sweet child.”

  
  
Her mom envelopes Toph in a hug. Her grip tightens when Toph’s shoulders start to shake, obviously mistaking her suppressed laughter for tears.

Toph mentally pats herself on the back for a job well done. 

Getting rid of Chen Wang had been her riskiest plan yet, one that had taken careful crafting and outside help. 

First, she had to start the rumor that her blindness was also indicative of infertility. Then she had to play up her helplessness and fragility by constantly acting faint. All this was done to encourage the Wangs to overlook her wealth and status and focus on the downside brought about by her _"delicate"_ health.

Then, she had to go through the trouble of stealing a copy of the Changs official family seal to stamp on the letter.

That’s where the outside help came in. Luckily, she had someone she trusted to do the dirty work.

Finally, she had to make sure to intercept the letter that the Wang's had sent in advance to call off the meeting.

(That had been real pain.)

It’d been a long road, but oh, was the pay off worth it.

She knew that pompous Chen Wang would jump at the chance of attending an engagement meeting with Lu Chang, considering she had rebuffed his advances for the better part of a year. 

All she had to do was play into his ego. And now he had essentially ditched a meeting to attend one that never existed. Not only would he look uncouth for not going through the proper channels to break the agreement, but showing up prepared for a meeting that was never drafted would make him look pompous and presumptuous.

To be a fly on the wall at that shitshow. The fallout alone would be nothing short of glorious.

And there was the added bonus of the ensuing mark of disgrace that would be added to the Wang family. They’d be lucky to be able to show their faces in polite society after her Father was done.

Normally Toph wouldn’t result to such….. harsh methods to get rid of a suiter, but if Chen Wang didn't want to make a fool of himself and receive a mark of shame on his family name, maybe he shouldn't have laughed with his Dad about how nice it would be to have such a helpless wife and how much fun he would have **_breaking_ **her in where she could hear them.

It had been nothing short of a miracle that Toph hadn’t leveled their whole complex to the ground when they moved on to joking about how interesting a blind girl would be in bed.

If anything, she went easy on them.

She could have done so much **_worse_ **.

Maybe she still will.

Toph gently pulls away from her mother. She brings her sleeve up to delicately wipe at nonexistent tears, valiantly resisting the urge to roll her eyes when her Mom sniffles loudly.

“I think I’ll retire for the night, Mother. I’m not very hungry anymore.”

  
  
“Of course Toph. Quin, escort Toph to her room. Rest easy, my dear. Those horrid Wangs will pay for this.”

With a demure nod, Toph delicately rises from her seat. Her personal guard, Quin, quickly moves to her side and takes her arm. Together, they silently exit the dining room.

Once they are a suitable distance away from the dining hall, Toph turns and punches Quin in the shoulder. His deep laugh mixes with her delighted guffaws, their moods high from their triumphant scam.

“ I told you it would work, didn't I!” 

Quin chuckles softly. “I never doubted you for a second, Lady Toph. I must say, that was a resplendent performance you pulled earlier. It was so realistic even I began to believe you were sincerely heartbroken.”

Toph puffs up proudly at the praise, “Oh Please. That was nothing. I’ve been playing my parents for years. Besides, I couldn’t have done it without you, Quin. I won't ask how you got the Wang's seal but expect a raise in pay, because that was brilliant.”

“You flatter me, my Lady.”

“Now, we must plan for our next move. Chances are as soon as my Dad’s done raging he’ll start drafting up the next arrangement.”

**Interlude: Omashu**

Aang laughs wildly as they zip through the high-speed turns and stomach-turning dips of the Omashu’s mail shoot. Keeping one hand secure around Sokka’s waist, he uses his free hand to use his airbending to give them a little boost. 

The speed goes from _fast_ to _supersonic_.

“ISN'T THIS FUN SOKKA!?

  
  
“AHHHHHHHHHHH!”  
  


“KATARA! HE LOVES IT!”

  
  
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

**End Interlude**

  
  


Zuko doesn't have an accurate frame of reference, but he’s sure that there’s only so long that someone can sit in a hot spring before they get bored. Apparently, for his uncle, the approximate time that he can spend doing something they were perfectly able to do on their ship - ie taking a hot bath - stretches forth into infinity. 

“There is always time to partake in the simple pleasures of life, nephew.” His Uncle had said in the tone of, _‘I’m being purposely philosophical and long winded to get what I want."_

That was something Uncle did _a lot_.

Zuko lets him go, more for the sake of his sanity than anything else. Uncle departs for his outdoor bath with an extra skip in his step, bringing a bit of doubt to his claim that the Hot Spring was to soothe away his aches and pains. Zuko watches him go, already regretting his decision.

That was hours ago. Literal hours. Or maybe it was just an hour, but the fact still remained that he was taking way too long.

Zuko doesn't understand why an outside bath was enough to stay their course or why Uncle insisted on wasting the whole day soaking in said bath when there were Avatars that needed capturing but he was tired of waiting. 

It wasn't like they didn't have baths on the Wani. Nice indoor baths that don't require them to stop the ship because they could be taken while the ship was in motion. And a ship in motion was much more likely to be able to catch an Avatar that was in motion than a ship that was stationed at the side of an Earth Kingdom shore

Zuko didn't have infinity to wait for Uncle to soak away his old people's aches(as the helmsman Shou liked to call them- behind Uncle’s back of course.)

And he doesn't have time to wait for Jee to do his duties and escort him to where Uncle was.

Thankfully, Jee lets him go on his own without much of a fuss. 

Well, _‘lets him go’_ may be stretching the truth a bit. It was more like Zuko was small and fast enough to dart through the trees and brush of the forest with relative ease and Jee was not.

Still, Jee didn't give a serious chase, preferring instead to yell curses into the trees so Zuko took that as an official endorsement of permission to go and yell at his Uncle to hurry up.

The trek to the hot spring is as boring as he’s sure the hot spring itself is. Zuko absentmindedly kicks at the branches littering the ground, trying to find his own fun as the unbelievable boredom slowly eats away at his sanity.

Perhaps he should have brought Jee along. He always made for good company, especially when there were things to kick at his head.

Zuko thinks he hears the gushing of the stream from the hot spring, can catch the wisps of steam wafting through the trees. But before he can open his mouth to scream at his Uncle and announce his appearance he’s awashed with a blast of heat that nearly knocks him for a loop.

The viscous cloud of steam immediately goes to his head, the moist air catching in his lungs, leaving behind a thick, uncomfortable pressure in his chest. He slumps to his knees, the crackle of leaves deafening over the sounds of his labored breathing. The ground rocks and lurches beneath his trembling knees. His hands fist the grass, dirt jamming underneath his fingernails, as he tries to focus on catching his breath and dispelling the clouds forming in his head.

After a minute of hazy drifting, where Zuko considers the ground and just how comfy it could be, he lurches to his feet and stumbles away from the steam on unsteady legs. Yelling at Uncle would have to wait. Right now, all Zuko cares about is putting as much distance between him and this evil muggy air as possible.

He stumbles away, going in no real direction, until the air clears and he’s able to breathe a little easier. Sitting atop a nearby stone, he focuses on controlling his breathing like Healer Ako showed him and considers his next course of action.

He could go back to the ship and bully Jee into fetching Uncle for him. It'd be admitting defeat but at least they could finally leave.

Then again, he could wait for Uncle at this safe, non muggy air distance, catch him halfway and yell at him all the way back to the ship. That would involve more waiting but , hey , he’d have more time to yell at Uncle.

Hmm, decisions, decisions.

The beat of massive feathers abruptly knocks Zuko out of his thoughts. He lurches forward, falling to the ground, just barely avoiding the massive scorpianhawk that dives past him. Jumping back to his feet, the anger that threatens to sprout fire from his palms quickly turns to fear as he sees the small sprinting form that was apparently the scorpianhawks' true target. Immediately, Zuko takes off in a sprint after the retreating hawk.

The tiny meadow vole squeaks with terror as it runs into a nearby tree, its escape route completely cut off. It makes to change courses but the scorpianhawk is too fast for it. There’s no chance of escape.

The scorpianhawk dives.

And Zuko moves, mind made up.

The puff of fire is small, pitiful by most standards and a clear reflection of his current state. It still does the job. The scorpionhawk retracts its claws, veering out of the way of his blast. Zuko darts forward and scoops the petrified meadow vole into one hand, the other outstretched towards the hovering hawk.

“Get out of here.” Smoke billows from his palm, a clear warning the Hawk immediately recognizes. A cranky squawk signals its surrender. Zuko’s eyes don't leave the hawks’ form until it soars over the top of the trees and out of sight.

Zuko leans back against the tree. He’s still a little lightheaded from the steamy air and his brisk run didn’t help him out any. His chest is on fire and he already feels the beginnings of a headache building at the base of his skull. But it’s all worth it. Gently, he lifts the meadow vole up to his face, taking care not to squeeze it too hard. Two large black eyes stare back at him.

“Hey there little friend. You okay?” The vole’s wet nose brushes against his cheek, its tiny claws tickling his palms as it scrambles closer. Silky fur brushes the underside of his nose, carrying the faint hint of tiger lilies and bluebells, flowers from the very meadow the vole is named after.

Zuko loves it already.

“We sure showed that mean old hawk what for, huh?” The vole chirps in what Zuko thinks is agreement and nips his palm gently. It’s large black eyes look up at him adoringly.

Blossom. That’s what the voles name shall be. Zuko shall call it Blossom and shall feed it and love it and snuggle it and occasionally _‘accidentally’_ leave it in Jee’s bed.

“You know, you shouldn’t have run out in the open like that,” He chastises, setting Blossom on his shoulder, where they chirp happily and nuzzles against Zuko cheek, “ You should be more aware of your surroundings. You’re so tiny, it would take nothing at all for something to scoop you up.”

“Indeed.”

The rumbling of earth muffles Zuko's shout of alarm. He doesn't even have time to react before he’s encased in a tomb of tightly condensed earth. He hisses in pain, the compressed dirt tightening painfully around his chest, leaving him gasping desperately for air. On his shoulder, Blossom squeals in anger, their tiny claws scraping against Zuko’s armor. Their weight is a comforting anchor, one that takes Zuko's attention away from the icy terror thrumming in his heart.

“Who's there!” Zuko hopes his voice doesn't sound as shaky to his enemies as it does to his own ears. “ Release me at once!”

The crunch of branches signifies the approach of someone, but Zuko can't turn his head to see who it is, so tightly bound. He hears a low chuckle to his left, close to his ear.

“Perhaps you should have taken your own advice.”

Plated armor flashes in the light of the waning sun, a veritable mountain of muscles blocking his sight. More and more bodies crowd into his vision, until he's drowning in a sea of shades of green and yellow.

Earth Kingdom Soldiers.

He’s surrounded by Earth Kingdom Soldiers.

He’s alone and surrounded by Earth Kingdom Soldiers.

“Well,well,well, what do we have here?” says a mustache soldier, oil dripping from his voice, “ A baby ashmaker, far away from its nest. ” A gauntleted hand pats his cheek. “ What are you doing out here, little pitviper?”

Zuko doesn't respond, fear rendering him mute.

“Aw, so quiet. Are you scared little firespawn?”

Beside him, noticeably younger soldier's mouth pinches into a tight, displeased line.

“I heard there were Fire Nation soldiers around but I didn't expect this.” he says, surveying Zuko with a strange expression. It’s kinder than moustache’s expression. Zuko’s shoulder untense just slightly.

“He is a Firebender. You saw him use his bending on that hawk.”

“But he can't be a soldier.”

“And why is that? Look at him. He’s wearing their armor.”

“Qi, he’s just a child.” The admission is tinged with disbelief, as if Zuko was some rare and elusive creature he never thought could possibly exist.  
  


“You've not seen the things these people are capable of Lee. ” says Qi, unimpressed. He circles Zuko slowly, his eyes boring a hole in his skull, “The Fire Nation Army is always taking in new recruits. Age has never mattered. Pitvipers raise their spawn to be ruthless. To be threats. It’s only natural we respond in kind.”

Zuko doesn't like the way that sounds. The seriousness of his situation has slowly settled in, and with it comes a dread that brings the sharp sting of tears to his eyes.

It’s honestly a miracle that Blossom hasn't left their perch on his shoulder. The aura of sheer malice wafting off of the stupid moustache solider is enough to send Zuko himself scrambling, had he the ability. Still, Zuko appreciates their presence. He didn't want to be alone.

Perhaps he should have powered through his earlier spell and met Uncle at the Hot Springs-

Wait! The hot springs! Uncle! Uncle was still nearby in the hot spring. Zuko hadn’t wandered that far away from them! If he screamed loud enough, surely Uncle would hear him!

The stupid Moustache is still talking to the Lee, his eyes no longer on Zuko. Zuko tracks him through the corner of his eye, waiting for the opportunity.

“I don't like what you’re insinuating, Qi.”

“You misunderstand me, Lee. I merely propose we take him to a nearby city, see if we can process him there and-”

" _Process him_?"

Qi fully turns to Lee, and raises his hands placatingly, unknowingly presenting Zuko the opportunity he’d been waiting for.

Zuko takes as deep a breath as his stone prison will allow.

“UNC-”

The sudden and strong blow to the side of his head rattles his brain and robs him of all sense. There’s a yell, a squeak of terror, all overtaken by a fierce, persistent buzzing. He slumps as much as his prison will allow, head pounding and ears ringing, the pain from the blow amplifying his earlier headache. The world tilts, spins, flips and slides in a disorienting array of muted colors and fuzzy shapes. He feels something hot and sticky gush down his cheek. It pools in the crook of his neck.

“Fung! That was unnecessary!” A voice oozing concern shouts, muffled by the stampede of elephant bison in his head.

“He was going to shout for help! Who knows how many ashmakers are lurking around!”  
  


Zuko wishes he wouldn't shout, it made his head throb. He feels something fuzzy press against the back of his neck, just under the collar of his armor. He latches onto the hot, comforting weight, eager to take his mind away from the pounding in his head.

“And that means you can try and knock the boys head clean off? Don’t do it again!” the concerned voice shouts again. It is closer now, just above his head.  
  


“He won't have too, I believe.”

A hand grabs at his ponytail, forcing his head up and straight. Rancid breath wafts against his cheek, the stupid moustache face leaning in so close their noses almost touch.

“We’re not gonna do that again, are we?” Qi's tone is conversational, but his eyes drip with a frigid cold that puts the Southern Waters to shame. “ You're going to be a good little boy and come quietly, won’t you?”

Zuko’s eyes won't focus, the soldier's smug smile dissolving behind a fuzzy film of jumbled colors. The earth is hard against his face, crumbs of dirt meld to his sticky cheek as his head lolls to the side.

“Won't you?” asks Qi again, his tone no longer pleasant. 

Zuko wants to answer, if only to put as much distance between him and the man as possible but he can't seem to speak around the cotton in his mouth. 

He wants Jee. He wants his Uncle.

Azula.

He wants Azula.

The gray gathering at the edges of his vision blocks the other soldiers as they close in. The concerned voice is shouting again but Zuko can only pick up on a few words.

“-lood...concussion…. _Dammit Fung_!”

The hint of malice shimmering within chips of frozen jade is the last thing Zuko sees before his world fades to black.

00000000000000000

Sokka doesn't like this spooky town or the selfish people who ask for Aang’s help with the spooky spirit thing causing havoc.

Sokka doesn’t like spooky spirit things in general. Never has. He doesn't understand them so they scare him and he doesn't like to deal with them.

Unfortunately, when you travel with the Avatar, spooky spirit things tend to come complete with the package.

Sokka clutches Aang’s hand tightly in his, making sure to stick close to his side as they walk through the town. He hasn’t left Aang’s side since his episode in the forest and while earlier it had been for Aang’s benefit, a way to comfort him in the wake of his minor breakdown, now it's literally the only thing that keeps Sokka from bolting straight out of the town gates.

“Is it really a good idea for you to talk to this Hei Bai thing?” Sokka asks Aang later when they’re alone. The Foreman has set them up in a cabin to give Aang some privacy to meditate and prepare to meet Hei Bai. Away from the expectant eyes of the villagers, Sokka feels brave enough to question the outrageous plan.

“Well, if I don't talk to him, who will?” Aang doesn't look at all worried about his upcoming council with the ancient Spirit Monster. If anything, he looks almost excited.

That concerns Sokka.

“I just don't think this is a good idea.” Because it’s not. But nobody seems to recognize just how bad of an idea this is, so no one is saying anything, so Sokka has to say something.

“Aang’s the Avatar, Sokka.” Katara says patiently. “Settling Spirit matters is part of his job. He can't just leave the Village to handle it by themselves.”

“Why not!? Come on, when is talking to a spooky spirit monster a good idea?”

“ When you’re the Avatar.” Aang chirps, effectively taking all the wind out of Sokka’s sail. “Besides, one of the areas I always excelled in in training was settling Spirit matters. Spirits love me. I’ll be able to talk Hei Bai down with no problems.”

Sokka’s doubt at that must show on his face because Aang flashes him an indulgent smile and leans over to ruffle his hair.

“I’ll be fine, kiddo. Don’t worry.”

Sokka still worries, because even though Aang’s the Avatar, he’s still just one person, and one person should never be forced to face something scary alone, especially when they have friends to help them.

The day passes by quickly, and the dusk finds Sokka huddling in a hut with the villagers, hands clutching Katara’s dress.

Sokka’s eyes never leave Aang’s solitary form, positioned in front of the village gates as the sun disappears behind the trees.

The trees rustle as soon as night falls, a low menacing snarl rising from the depths of the forest. It is only his worry for Aang that keeps Sokka from burying his face into Katara's side. He can’t stop the involuntary whimper, however. 

“Aang…..” Katara's arms come around him in a gentle hold. 

“It's okay, Sokka. Everything will be fine. You’ll see.”

“Indeed.” The Village Head says. “Take heart young one and have faith in the Avatar.”

Sokka’s about to tell the village head where he can shove his faith when the rustling grows louder. 

Hei Bai is a thing of nightmares, giant, warped and sporting a mouth full of large lethal teeth. Yet, Aang casually walks up to the monster and lifts a hand.

“Greetings, Mighty Hei Bai. I’m Avatar Aang, the bridge between our worlds. I’m here to hear your grievances and hopefully come to a point of understanding that ends with you sparing this Village your understandable but destructive wrath. Might we have a council together?”

That's....different. A formal Aang is not something Sokka is used too. He actually sounds wise and in control, like a proper being of legend. 

Like the Avatar.

“See Sokka?” Katara says. Sokka looks up to see her smiling. “Hei Bai is listening. I told you, Aang knows what he's doing.”

For a moment, it looks like Katara is right, that Hei Bai was considering Aang’s words, and then he’s turning and the building nearest them explodes into a pile of rubble, vaporized by a powerful spirit blast.

Sokka thinks he’s screaming but he can’t make himself out over the sound of collapsing wood and his own frantically beating heart.

Aang is no longer in front of the village gates. He stands atop a nearby building. He’s close enough that Sokka can make out his expression, can see the panic shining on his face.

“ Calm yourself, mighty Hei Bai. I understand your fury but you must not take it out on the residents of this village. Please, if you would just have council with me. I only seek to understand.”

His words are ignored as Hei Bai continues his path of destruction. Another building joins the first, this one only just opposite of their hiding place. Katara’s arms no longer hold him, instead they are her sides, grasping her water flask. She takes a half step forward, her face set in grim determination.

Hei Bai turns to their hut and Sokka's mind dissolves into static.

“NO!”

And then Aang is there, his air blast knocks Hei Bai off balance, refocusing the monster's attention on him.

And refocus Hei Bai's attention he does. The Spirit turns to him with a shriek of fury, his tail slashing through the air. Sokka picks up on the fact that there is no time to dodge around the same time Aang does. The tail catches him around the middle, and Aang's body goes flying, disappearing behind a pile of rubble.

“AANG!”  
  


“SOKKA NO!” Sokka feels Katara’s fingers brush his arm, but he’s up and out of the window before she can get a tight enough hold. Screw taking care of things alone. No spooky spirit monster was gonna hurt his Aang while Sokka was around to say something about it.

The second his feet hit the ground, he charges at the weird, angry spirit thing, boomerang held high. His heart is thumping wildly, the sound muffling the creaking of the buildings falling around him, and the frantic screams and racing footfalls of Katara. In his mind, he curses the stupid villagers who thought this was a good idea, who purposely sent Aang out to deal with this problem alone, when he and Katara were right there.

“LEAVE HIM ALONE!” He roars letting his boomerang fly as he nears the spirit.

His boomerang soars through the air, towards the Hei Bai, striking his leg. In the few seconds between his boomerang falling uselessly to the ground and the spirit turning around to face him, Sokka thinks he probably should have devised a backup plan.

Before the Spirit can even move into a ready position to lunge, wind and water combine in a coordinated attack that once again sends Hei Bai reeling. Sokka blinks as his vision is blocked by orange and blue, Katara and Aang creating a human shield around him.

“Well, so much for talking our way through this.” Aang says, pressing close to Sokka’s side.

“ I told you this was a bad idea, Aang.” The footstomp of emphasis is involuntary but completely necessary if you ask Sokka.

Aang shoots Sokka a small smile, 

“ That you did. Thanks for the assist kiddo.”

“Aang, don't encourage him.” Even Katara's sharp rebuke is not enough to pop the bubble of pride that swells within Sokka at Aang’s words. “What he did was irresponsible and once we deal with Hei Bai, you and I are gonna- ” 

Whatever lecture outline Katara was gearing up to prepare is abruptly cut off as Aang tackles him to the ground. Sokka blinks up at the night sky, recovering just into time to see the monster snatch his sister right off her feet.

“Katara!”

“Katara! NO!”

Aang is up and in the air, hot on Hei Bai's tail as the spirit takes off towards the forest, Katara clutched in its hold.

Sokka moves to follow, but he’s stopped. Hands are grabbing at him, holding him back from throwing himself after his sister. They pull him off his feet, lift him into the air. He fights against those hands wildly, biting and kicking, scratching and punching. And yet for all his efforts the forest gets farther and farther away.

“LET ME GO! LET ME GO!”

The hands hold firm, and he’s being pulled away, back into the safety of the bunkhouse.

Away from Katara and Aang.

“NO! KATARA! AANG!”

The villagers lock their arms around him, hold him tightly in place and he screams louder, screams for his sister and Aang.

He doesn't stop screaming for them, even as night passes and the sun rises and the village gates remain barren and empty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I woke up today and chose violence. Fear me.
> 
> You thought you were safe because this is a fluffy, humorous fic? Then you’ve fallen for my trap card.
> 
> A note about Aang and Hei Bai: Aang in this is older but he’s not that much wiser than canon Aang. While this Aang is more experienced, mature and confident in his abilities, he’s still a teenager and we all know what happens when teens get a little too overconfident. They get a little cocky and underestimate the situation. So while Aang is definitely more experienced when it comes to Spirit matters, he overestimates his ability to mediate and is thus still unable to initially connect with Hei Bai.


End file.
